Game-Changer
by VGS2 the sexy sausage
Summary: Buneary has caused nothing but embarrassment and confusion for Pikachu since the day she joined the team. Just one game-changing event after another for the easily mortified mouse. With all that said, though... since he's so fond of her, are things really all that bad despite all the twists and turns? [PikaBun fluff]
1. Flaming Spirit

**Arc I:** The Game Begins

 **Chapter 1:** _Flaming Spirit_

* * *

Pikachu jumped out of the way of a barrage of leaves. They shredded apart the grassy ground he'd been standing upon mere moments ago. Landing elsewhere on his four paws, the yellow mouse turned to face his opponent, Turtwig, who frowned at him determinedly.

Panting, Pikachu shook some sweat off his face. Man, for a newbie, that green tortoise sure was putting up quite a fight. While Pikachu wasn't putting his all into the battle, considering that it was just a training session, he was still impressed.

" _Awesome!_ " his trainer, Ash, exclaimed before pointing at them. "Now, Pikachu, it's your turn! Counter with Quick Attack!"

Nodding, the yellow mouse began to run towards the tortoise while yelling, "[Quick Attack!]" Soon afterwards, he felt light as a feather, allowing him to zip forwards at a lightning-fast speed.

"Alright, Turtwig, dodge it and use Bite!" Ash ordered energetically.

Just as Pikachu was about to ram into Turtwig, the tortoise barely dodged out of the way at the last second. Then, with surprisingly good precision, he managed to clamp down onto Pikachu's tail with his powerful jaws.

Still running, Pikachu cried out in pain. Ugh, why did Turtwig have to cling onto his sensitive tail? _Again?_ Pikachu was starting to get déjà-vu…

"Great job!" Ash exclaimed. "Pikachu, shake him off!" He scratched his head and scanned the fields before shrugging. "… Er, somehow."

Gritting his teeth, Pikachu gave his trainer a befuddled look. Just how the heck was he going to manage _that_? Unlike last time, the mouse didn't have any trees in the area to slam Turtwig against. Still, he continued to run around the field, constantly changing directions to try and free his tail. However, no matter how fast he ran, the tortoise refused to let go, allowing himself to be dragged along.

"[L-Leggo, Turtwig!]" Pikachu pleaded, his speed starting to slow as the pain in his tail threatened to overwhelm him.

He honestly didn't expect the tortoise to comply, though he hoped that Turtwig would accidentally open his mouth while saying no. Unfortunately, all the grass-type did was mumble something, mouth still clamped shut. Drat…

His pain continuing, Pikachu slowed as the thought of forfeiting the match crossed his mind. This was only a training battle, so it wasn't worth the agony of his poor tail. Not again, anyway. He'd walked funny for hours after the last time he'd tried too hard to remove the tortoise from himself. Just as he was about to cry uncle, however, he heard someone calling his name.

"[ _C'mon, Pikachu, you amazing mouse! You can do it!_ ]"

He recognized that squeaky voice. It was the quirky rabbit girl Dawn had caught the other week, wasn't it? What was her name again…? Buneary?

He glanced in her direction and noticed her hopping up and down excitedly, while shouting praise. Man, she was so strange. She'd only been on the team for a little while, yet she already seemed like a huge fan of his. Often giving him praise and encouragement for random reasons. More so than Ash, even. He didn't understand her at all.

As he continued to glance over, he noticed the other pokémon giving her weird looks. He even saw a few of them sniggering at her antics, namely Aipom and Starly.

He began to feel horribly embarrassed. Oh, dear lord, why did she have to start causing a scene? He wouldn't have minded if she was just cheering for both him and Turtwig, but she was being very specific with her extreme praising. He wasn't going to deny that he felt flattered, but he could really do without the warmth in his cheeks right now.

"[ _You've got this in the bag!_ ]" she cheered, continuing to energetically jump in place. "[ _I believe in you!_ ]"

… Heh. Despite the pain and the warmth, he couldn't help but manage a small smile at that.

Oh, screw it. He'd planned on giving up, but just how could he when he had that much support pouring in? He was probably going to get teased for having such a fangirl, but so be it! Biting his lip, he once again upped his speed, though without using Quick Attack. He didn't want his tail to be torn off, after all. Once fast enough, he tried tightly swerving around several times, eventually ending in an insanely sharp turn. The painful feeling of almost losing his entire back end followed, so he decided not to do that anymore.

Ughhh, how exactly could he do this without anything to hit the guy against? He just wished he could remember more details from his previous battle against him. His pained tail and concentrating on running was making things hard to remember, however.

He considered starting up a Thunderbolt, though he remembered Brock saying that Turtwig's species is part ground-type. The tortoise hadn't seemed like much of one, but Pikachu didn't feel like testing things. Not until Turtwig was weak enough, anyway.

Before he could think up any more ideas, Ash continued. "Now, Turtwig! Razor Leaf! And Pikachu! Find a way to dodge it!"

Pikachu felt his heart dip. Especially as he heard activity coming from the tortoise. Frowning, he stepped to his left as he ran, missing the leaves that shredded the floor to his side. He sidestepped again and again as Turtwig shot a few more rounds of leaves. After his sixth dodge, sweat began to blur his vision. If he didn't shake this guy off soon, he had no chance.

Buneary's cheering suddenly caught his attention. "[ _Your iron will can beat any pokémon! Yeahhh!_ ]" she exclaimed, sounding surprisingly hot-blooded.

Dodging another set of leaves, his ears pricked. Wait. Iron. Of course! Just like in his previous fight with Turtwig! Dang it, how could he have forgotten such an integral step of the last battle? Then again, Ash seemed to have done so, too, so… hey.

With a cry of "[Iron Tail!]" his tail suddenly became coated in steel. He felt instant relief as the spot Turtwig was chomping on solidified. With a yelp of surprise, Turtwig tried biting down even harder, but Pikachu barely felt it. Smirking, he began to spin around on the spot, quickly getting faster and faster. Turtwig began to slide off his now-slippery tail as a result. Once he reached the tip, Pikachu jumped and did a back-flip, flinging him into the air. Landing and jumping again, the mouse did a forward flip and slammed his tail into him, knocking him a fair distance away into the ground.

"Alright, Pikachu, you did it!" Ash yelled energetically. "Now… you know what to do!"

After spring-boarding backwards from striking Turtwig, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark. "[Payback time! Thunder… _BOOOOOOOLT_!]" Wanting to put on a show, he let loose a huge stream of electricity towards the ground. It ricocheted off and arced towards Turtwig, striking him in the shell.

Held aloft by the force of his attack against the floor, Pikachu continually pumped the tortoise full of electricity. He didn't expect his stylish Thunderbolt to do too much damage, but, much to his surprise, Turtwig was crying out in pain. After much zapping, the tortoise's cries ceased, a dizzy look in his eyes. Stopping the attack and dropping back to the floor, Pikachu furrowed his brows in confusion. Gosh, was his electricity really _that_ powerful? So much so that he could knock seemingly electric-proof pokémon unconscious?

Well… it wasn't a massive stretch, he supposed. After all, he _had_ taken out ground-types in the past. Still, to beat a _grass/_ ground pokémon? He must be getting _really_ powerful! His father would be so proud.

… He shook that thought from his mind before it was followed by other, less happy ones.

"Looks like Turtwig's down for the count…" Ash's new companion, Dawn, began, "which means Pikachu wins!"

Everyone in the small crowd gave Pikachu a praising cheer. Especially Buneary, who was easily the loudest of them all, much to no-one's surprise at this point.

Bashfully rubbing the back of his neck, he gave them a happy wave. However, he winced as a stab of pain shot through his now-normal tail. Ughh, had Turtwig really needed to bite down so hard…?

"Alright! Great job, Pikachu!" Ash praised. Then, moving over to Turtwig, he pet him on the head. "You did good, too, Turtwig."

Slowly picking himself up, the tortoise gave him a meek smile. "[Thanks…]" he replied, despite not sharing Ash's language.

With Piplup on her head, Dawn walked over to the group. "Y'know, Ash…" she started, "I still don't understand why you made them both battle each other like that."

"What's not to understand? It's for training, of course!" Ash responded. "You don't become a good trainer unless you… well, _train_! It's good for exercise and teamwork-building and stuff like that."

She shook her head. "Yeah, I get that, but wouldn't it be better to train with a friend, like me, instead of by yourself?"

"Oh. Well… err…" He put on a contemplative look, as if the idea had never occurred to him.

Still balancing on her head, Piplup put his flippers to his hips. "[Hmph, yeah! I would've been a _much_ better opponent.]"

Turtwig raised an eyebrow at the blue penguin. "[You kidding? One zap from him or one leaf from me, and you'd be blown into next week,]" he said, loudly enough for Piplup to hear.

"[He has a point, y'know…]" Pikachu added, shrugging.

Piplup huffed before crossing his arms. "[Yeah, well… I'm so amazing that none of you would even get the _chance_ to hit me!]"

Turtwig looked unimpressed. "[After you've finished stumbling to the ground, maybe…]"

Piplup began frantically moving about on the spot, in what appeared to be one of his trademark 'flustered dances'. "[Heyyyy! That happened _one flipping time_ , you jer- _Wah_!]" During his flustered dance, he fell off Dawn's head, though the girl was quick to catch him.

"Whoa! Careful, Piplup," Dawn chided.

Pikachu couldn't stop himself from laughing along with Turtwig. Despite his intense pride, Piplup could be so goofy.

The penguin groaned. "[Quiet, you guys…]"

"See? Even Piplup was ready to take the spotlight," Dawn said to Ash, the water-type in her arms.

"Well…" Ash began, scratching his hat.

Her face lit up. "Oh, unless you did it for practice with double battles! After all, you _did_ have to give them both orders at the same time." She winked. "That's real smart of ya!"

He chuckled sheepishly. "Thanks, but that ain't it. Honestly, I just did it 'cos I thought it'd be fun."

Dawn gave him a blank stare. "… You thought battling with yourself would be more fun than doing it with someone else?"

Ash gave an exaggerated shrug. "Well, when you think about it… this way it's impossible for me to lose! So I can only get better, right?"

Everyone exasperatedly flopped to the ground, as people often did whenever Ash said anything these days.

"[Only Ash…]" Pikachu grumbled.

"Alright, everyone!" Brock called out from his cooking area a short distance away. "Food's ready, so come and get it!"

Back on their feet, everyone made a noise of delight. Especially Ash, who had quickly run off in Brock's direction at lightning-fast speeds. Shortly after, with many looks of exasperation, everyone slowly followed behind him.

Pikachu also moved along, suddenly feeling excited. He was really hungry, and any distraction from his sore tail was welcome!

As he began to travel towards where the food was being served, he found himself walking next to Turtwig, who'd moved closer.

He smiled at Pikachu. "[Hey there. Nice battle!]" he praised.

The mouse smiled back. "[You too! I would've lost if it weren't for my Iron Tail.]"

"[Maybe! Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't use it sooner. 'Specially after you did it last time.]"

Pikachu chuckled sheepishly. "[Would you believe it? I actually forgot about that part of the battle…]"

After an odd glance, Turtwig began to laugh. "[Tsk. Oh, you…]" He grinned. "[Well, good job you listened to that girl who likes ya, then, eh?]"

Oh no, not again… "[Ugh. Um, y-yeah, sure…]" Pikachu groaned embarrassedly.

Ever since Buneary had shown up, everyone had been quick to mention how she much she 'liked him', even though that was probably a load of phooey. She was extremely praising and quirky, sure, but she was no Brock. Everyone must have just been teasing him. After all, it happened often with most of his friends…

"[So, er…]" he began, trying to get out of the awkward topic as quickly as possible. "[... Oh, yeah, are you alright? You're part ground-type, sure, but I did zap you pretty bad.]"

Turtwig tilted his head questioningly. "[Huh? Well, yeah, thanks, but I'm not ground-type. Not 'till I evolve a few times, anyway.]"

Pikachu blinked. "[… Oh.]" He smiled awkwardly as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his head. Dangit, he really needed to stop taking Brock's advice. "[S-Sorry. Brock said you were, so I just thought… well, y'know.]"

Turtwig chuckled. "[No worries. Heck, I'm flattered you think I'm so mature. Kind of.]"

"[Eheh, um, alright, cool,]" Pikachu replied, still feeling a little embarrassed.

Turtwig looked like he was going to say something else, though he stopped. Then, with what appeared to be a small smirk, he began to quicken his pace towards the others ahead. "[Welp, I'll leave ya to it. See you later!]"

The mouse gave him an odd look. "[Er… okay then? See ya later, I gue- _Wah!_ ]"

Before he could finish, he was suddenly tackled into a hug from behind. The sudden contact made him stiffen.

"[Heyy, Pikachu!]" a somewhat girly, if not tomboyish, voice from behind him cried out, giggling. "[Guess who~? Ahaha!]"

Oh no… he recognized that voice immediately. "[O-Oh, um, hey… Buneary, right?]" he greeted.

"[That's me~]" she murmured happily.

His breathing quickened. Oh, dear lord, he really wasn't used to such affection. Especially not when everyone else was watching...

On that note, he checked to make sure he wasn't being watched. Thankfully, nobody in the group seemed to be looking at them, though he saw Turtwig giving him a knowing gaze before looking away again. Ugh, no wonder he'd been so eager to break off their conversation...

Eventually, Buneary let go, allowing him to move a safe distance away. Turning to face the strange, brown, fluff-covered rabbit, he saw that she was beaming widely.

"[So, er… anything you wanted from me?]" he asked, giving her a strange look.

She smiled pleasantly, swaying from one foot to another. "[Nothin' really, Cutie~. Just thought I'd say hi!]"

He exhaled quietly, trying not to show too much displeasure. 'Cutie'… Man, this girl just loved to use weird phrases like that, didn't she? It was no wonder that everyone thought she liked him. She almost sounded like she was freaking flirting. Heck, he was half-convinced that she was…

"[Oh… okay, then,]" he replied awkwardly.

She gestured towards Brock and the others. "[C'mon, let's go get a bite to eat!]"

He gave a small nod. "[Yeah, that sounds-]" Before he could finish, she'd gripped onto his paw before beginning towards their friends, dragging him along. "[… u-um… good?]"

She sent a pleasant look his way. It faltered, however, once she noticed him grimacing. "[What's the matter?]" Stopping, her face fell slightly as her grip on him slackened. "[O-Oh. I'm not… creeping you out, am I?]"

He sighed before forcing a smile. "[No, you're good! Sorry, I'm just-]" His stomach growled loudly, as if on cue. "[… hungry.]"

After a small pause, she giggled loudly. "[Wow, no kidding.]"

He grinned sheepishly, rubbing his belly. "[Eheh, yeah. Guess I worked off a little too much energy from that battle. I'm famished.]"

She excitedly set off walking again, gently pulling him along. "[Then let's get some food down ya, Mister Big Battler~]"

Smiling exasperatedly, he walked alongside her. "[Alright, then. Great idea.]"

With a happy noise, she continued to lead him along towards their waiting meals.

He tried to ignore all the looks he began to receive as they drew closer to the group. Feeling the rising heat in his cheeks, however, he knew it was a lost cause.

He barely held back a sigh. This day was only going to get more awkward, wasn't it?

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished -**

 **Old stuff:** 13/04 (April)/2016

 **New stuff:** 18/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 2,715

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** And so begins the beginning of the new and improved Game-Changer! Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran to the story, I hope you enjoy reading about everyone's favourite awkward mouse and affectionate bunny! :P

 **Shameless promotion:** Yo, go and give ravengal's story, **A Gracious Gift** , some reviews. It's the best lagomorphshipping story I know of, and it's criminally lacking in feedback.

On that note, mad props to ravengal and MewLover54 for helping me make this story less caca. You two are da bes! :P

 **Fun mistakes of the day: #1:** "Great job!" Ash exclaimed. "Pikachu, toss him off!"

(Oh dear. And then, suddenly, Pikachu x Turtwig was born.)

 **#2:** Ash continued. "Now, Turtwig! Razor Shell!"

(Whoops! Wrong starter pokémon.)

 **#3:** 'Falling, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark.'

(The way I worded it makes it sound like Pikachu's cheeks fell off him while sparking. No more electricity for him. Just like in the start of Unova!)

 **#4:** 'Dodging another set of ears, his ears pricked.'

(Someone's throwing ears at Pikachu! Appropriate, considering who his future lover will be.)

 **#5: '** "See? Even Piplup was ready to take the spotlight," Dawn said, Dawn in her arms.'

(And then suddenly, every character was Dawn. *Plays 'At Dawn' from Sonic Adventure*)

Alrighty then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your read! Either way… tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Pellets and chill!_


	2. Eat And Greet

**Chapter 2:** _Eat and Greet_

* * *

Pikachu made a satisfied noise as he gorged on his pellets along with the rest of his teammates, who were dotted around the area.

Next to him was Buneary, who'd, unsurprisingly, decided to eat next to him. He'd minded a little at first, considering how quirky the rabbit could be, but he'd gotten used to her presence soon enough. Especially since everyone seemed too hungry to be paying them any attention anyway.

As he ate, he kept noticing her stealing glances at him. After the third or fourth time, he actually turned his head to look at her. The second he did so, their gazes locked for a moment.

They both blinked. Then, seemingly embarrassed, she looked away immediately, a small blush forming on her face. "[Eep! Um, sorry,]" she muttered.

"[Er, that's... okay,]" he replied, trying not to sound too weirded out. "[Do I... have some stuff on my face, or something?]"

She looked back towards him. "[Nah, I was just… um... thinking about that amazing battle of yours! Yeah, you looked so cool out there, y'know.]"

"[Oh, well… thanks!]" He bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "[I didn't do all that great, really, but I'll take it.]"

In amusement, she held a paw to her mouth. "[Ahaha, d'aww, you're so modest~]"

"[Barely. All that happened was me getting my tail bitten.]" As he mentioned that, he was suddenly reminded of how sore his tail was. Darn it, and he'd been successfully ignoring it up until now, too…

"[You still managed to get him off. And you did it without Ash telling you what to do, either! You're so incredibly smart~]"

He chuckled, his pride starting to swell a little. "[Oh, c'mon, Buneary. You're just flattering me, now.]"

"[Hardly~. I'm just telling the truth!]"

Shaking his head in amusement, he picked up another food pellet and took a bite out of it. "[Besides, I only got the idea to use Iron Tail after hearing you cheer for me.]"

She tilted her head. "[Huh? You did?]"

He nodded. "[Yeah, remember? You yelled something about me having an 'iron will'.]" He gave her a happy look. "[Reminded me to stop being a doofus, so I'm grateful. Thanks!]"

"[Huh, gosh…]" It was her turn to stroke the back of her head. "[Ahaha, well, glad to be of service, I guess!]"

Content, they both went back to eating for a while.

Eventually, she spoke up again. "[Say, Pikachu?]"

"[Hm?]" he asked, head tilted.

"[Speaking of Iron Tail…]" She pointed towards something behind him. "[Has anyone ever told you how fabulous your tail is?]"

His head jolted back slightly. "[Huh? My tail? Fabulous?]" He moved it between them. "[You… think so?]"

"[Absolutely! It's so pretty and long. Not to mention super tough! Wish I had one like yours…]"

He began to blush. Gosh, people didn't often comment on his tail… "[Oh, well… thanks.]"

He flinched as she reached out to gently stroke it, hissing in pain.

Hearing that, she snapped her paw back. "[Ah! Oh, sorry...]"

Pushing back a pained grimace, he gave her a reassuring look. "[Eheh, it's alright. Turtwig's bite just left it a little tender, is all.]"

She immediately gave him a concerned look. "[Oh, darn, _really_? Will you be alright!?]" she exclaimed.

He jolted back in surprise, not expecting such a reaction. "[Ah! Er, y-yeah. I'm guessing so.]"

She frowned angrily. "[Hmph! Turtwig shouldn't have bitten you so hard. That jerk…]"

He shook his head. "[Nah, it's alright. We _were_ battling, after all.]" He picked up a pellet and bit off a piece. "[Besides, my tail's been through worse. Like a week ago, when it was, well, bitten. In the exact same way, by... er, someone.]"

"[Oh no, really? You mean this happened again recently!?]"

Letting go of the pellet, he held his paws up to calm her. "[D-Don't worry about it. It was only sore for a teeny while, and this one's no different. I promise!]"

She gazed at it, seeming unsure. "[I dunno… it does look awfully red. Especially in the middle, where that turtle's tooth… thing was.]"

He chuckled lightly. "[It's nice of you to worry so much, but really, it'll live!]" He tapped his chin. "[…Also, I think Turtwig's a tortoise, not a turtle.]"

She gave him a confused glance. "[Huh? Then why's he called _Turt_ wig?]"

"[Heh, yeah, I wondered that myself…]" He shrugged. "[Ah well, who knows? You should ask him one of these days.]"

She gave an amused huff. "[Maybe.]" She rubbed her chin, seemingly contemplating something. "[Hmm…]"

He gave her a questioning look, though he didn't say anything as she kept her thinking pose.

Eventually, she batted a paw into her other one, as if coming up with something. "[Alright, I've got it!]"

"[Huh? Got what?]" he asked.

Not responding, she held her paws out in front of her. Then, in a surprisingly gross act, she spat onto them.

He grimaced slightly at the display. Man, she may have been amazingly graceful while contesting, but that didn't stop her from being crude when she wanted, he supposed. Still, being used to Ash's usual antics, he didn't really mind all that much, though he did wonder what she was up to.

Bringing her paws closer to her mouth, the rabbit began to rub her them together while sharply blowing onto them. Soon after, she brought them away, revealing a somewhat thick layer of ice covering them.

At first, he was extremely confused. However, he made an 'O' shape with his mouth as he remembered that, for whatever reason, she had the ability to shoot ice out of her mouth. Well, an ice-cold laser, anyway. It was a cool ability, no pun intended, though he couldn't figure out why she had it for the life of him.

He gave her another curious look as she stood up and moved behind him. "[Er… what're you up to? Why'd you freeze your-]"

Before he could finish, she'd placed both of her frozen paws onto his tail's sore spot. "[Here's your answer~]" she chirped.

Almost immediately, he let loose a loud high-pitched sigh of content as he felt the pain in his tail melt away, only to be replaced with bliss. Oh, good Lugia, that was nice…

…He slapped his paws over his mouth. Oh no, had he really just done that!? Looking around, he suddenly saw several different faces look in his direction. Listening, he could even hear Buneary quietly giggling.

"[…Er…]" Turtwig started, "[you alright over there?]"

Aipom began to snicker. "[You two should probably head for the bushes if you're gonna be making noises like that,]" she teased.

Pikachu could feel himself glowing bright scarlet. "[W-We're not… Ughh…]" he muttered, covering his face with his paws.

Starly gave the purple monkey a stern look, though it was hard to take him seriously with the amused smile creeping onto his beak. "[Pft… Er, hey, don't be so mean, Aipom.]"

Aipom continued to snicker. "[Just sayin'!]"

Still soothing Pikachu's aching tail with her icy paws, Buneary huffed in annoyance. "[Yeah, well, for your information, I was fixing up his injured tail, you cheeky monkey.]"

"[Yeah, you did kinda overdo it with the biting…]" Starly added, looking at Turtwig. "[I thought you were gonna take his tail off.]"

"[Hm. Poor guy. I'd never live without my tail...]" Aipom agreed.

"[Oh, eheh, I guess so,]" the tortoise replied sheepishly, turning to Pikachu. "[Sorry, man. Guess I got carried away.]"

"[Again...!]" Aipom added, rolling her eyes.

Turtwig sighed. "[Yeah. Again...]"

Cheeks still burning, the mouse offered him a reassuring smile. "[It's alright. Could've been worse…]"

Bonsly sniffled. "[W-What a horrible thought. Having your tail bitten off. Th-That's so horrid!]" he whimpered before bursting into tears.

Immediately, the others began to try and comfort him, even though the little rock-tree often liked to cry for no reason. Pikachu, however, breathed a sigh of relief at the distraction. "[Thanks, Bun. Last thing I needed was their teasing…]"

Still rubbing his tail, Buneary made a happy noise. "[No problem! You okay, though?]"

"[Yeah…]" he replied, rubbing a paw on his cheek. "[Gonna take a while for my cheeks to stop burning, though…]"

"[Ooh, I can help with that!]" She took her paws off his tail and, reaching around his head, placed them onto his cheeks instead.

Allowing his tail to go back behind him, he sighed in content, though much more quietly than before. It was honestly amazing that steam wasn't pouring off his face at this point. "[Man, that's nice…~]" His brows furrowed as something occurred to him. "[…Though you are basically just putting spit on my face at this point, aren't you?]"

"[…Ahah, well, I guess…]" she sheepishly replied. "[I froze it, though, so it'll be nice and clean. I think.]"

Mulling over that, he shrugged. He wasn't entirely convinced, but it made sense. "[I guess… but why do it in the first place? Why not just go straight to freezing?]"

"[Well, if I didn't use this technique, I'd have to straight up use Ice Beam on my paws. And that's a rabbit hole I don't wanna go down.]" She paused. "[... Again.]"

He chuckled, and not just at her pun. "[Oh dear. Dare I ask what that was all about?]"

"[Well... I got into a big fight one day, and then I had the oh-so-very bright idea of putting ice on one of my bruises.]" She laughed awkwardly. "[Needless to say, it took a while to melt most of the ice. So yeah... I'm a bit more careful, now.]"

He chuckled even harder. "[Huh... good going.]"

She huffed slightly. "[Heyy... I didn't have Ice Beam for all that long, back then, so I wasn't used to its strength.]"

He finished off the half-eaten pellet from earlier. "[Heh, I can imagine.]"

"[In any case, that's why I do the whole spitting thing. I can stop if it grosses you out too much, though...]"

He shrugged. "[Nah, it's good. Just don't shove your paws into my mouth, and it'll be fine with me.]"

He felt her move about, as if nodding. "[Roger that~]"

She continued to work on cooling his cheeks. A short while later, he felt her front press against his back as she leaned forwards slightly. As a result, he could feel her heart beating. It seemed to be going fast, for some reason. Considering how energetic she usually was, it wasn't all that much of a surprise, really.

A part of his brain kept nagging at him that it probably looked like she was hugging him from behind. However, he couldn't bring himself to tell her to stop. She was just too good at this! Besides, looking around, everyone seemed preoccupied with eating, or talking, or with cheering Bonsly up, so he allowed it.

As she began to make a slight rubbing motion, however, something suddenly occurred to him. "[Er, careful with the cheeks, though. If you don't watch yourself, I might zap ya.]"

She immediately withdrew her paws. "[Y-You're gonna _zap_ me? Oh no, am I upsetting you that much? I-I'm sorry!]" she apologized, sounding distressed.

He frantically shook his head in alarm. "[N-No! That's not what I meant! They're my electric sacs, so they might get… I dunno, electrical if I don't watch 'em, y'know?]"

After a small pause, she gave a relieved-sounding exhale. "[Ahh, okay. Sorry…]"

He turned his head to look at her. "[Hey, that's alright. I should've phrased things better.]"

"[No kidding. For a sec there, I thought I'd overstepped some boundaries, or something.]"

He chuckled sheepishly. "[Yeah, my bad... Oh well, don't worry. You're too nice for a zapping, so I wouldn't dream of it.]"

"[Hee, you're so understanding…]" she mumbled before rubbing his cheeks again, though far more gently than before. After a small while, she made a noise of contemplation. "[How do they work, anyway? Your sacs, I mean.]"

He blinked. "[Oh, err… they… um…]"

"[…You do know, don't ya?]"

"[Y-Yeah, 'course! They work by… taking all the electricity from the air around me, and then they… er, capture it.]"

"[Huh? _Capture_ it? Y'mean, like... a pokéball?]" she asked, sounding confused. "[That... doesn't really make much sense.]"

He began to sweat. "[N-No, I mean… it gets attracted to my cheeks, where it gets… stored, like a... shaggy carpet does with static electricity.]"

She paused for a short while. Soon after, she burst out laughing. "[What? So you're calling your cheeks shaggy carpets? Are you sure about that?]"

He groaned. "[Alright… not really. Honestly, I have no idea how my cheeks work. When I wanna zap stuff, they just… do it.]"

"[Ahaha! Oh, you're such a silly mousey... Y'know that?]"

He crossed his arms. "[Hmph. Yeah, well, I'll bet you couldn't tell me how your… I dunno, how your ears work.]"

"[Huh?]"

"[Like… why do you always have one rolled up?]"

She made a sound of realization. "[Well, if I kept both of 'em poking up all the time, I'd probably go deaf. My hearing's sensitive, y'see.]"

The quick answer surprised him. "[Oh... so there actually _is_ a reason for that?]"

"[Uh huh! It's not just for show~. Contrary to some people's popular beliefs.]"

"[Hm... well, it certainly explains why you heard Team Rocket coming before me and Starly did that one time…]" He tilted his head slightly. "[How do you not get a headache every time you punch stuff, then? I can't imagine that being good for your hearing.]"

She made a quick movement, as if shrugging. "[It's not all that bad, really. The noise is dampened by the fluff on my ears. Especially when it hardens with Dizzy Punch.]"

"[Huh… that so?]"

"[Uh huh!]"

A bead of sweat dripped down his head. "[Oh, well… drat. Honestly, I was hoping you'd be just as clueless about yourself as _I_ am about _me_.]"

She giggled again. "[No such luck, I'm afraid~. Unlike a certain someone, I actually know a thing or two about myself.]"

He lightly rolled his eyes. "[Tsk, if only you weren't so intelligent. It'd be nice to have the big brains that you've apparently got.]"

She gave a light gasp. "[You think I'm super brainy? Really?]"

Uh oh. He knew that tone. "[Um… y-yeah?]"

There was a short pause. Before he could turn his head to see what she was up to, she suddenly gave him a huge hug from behind. "[D'aww, how kind of ya! Ahaha~]"

"[Er… n-no problem?]" Oh, dear lord. He kept forgetting about how easy she was to flatter. Being complimented often made her go all starry-eyed or bashful. Either way, there was usually some nuzzling. Or lots of hugging. Or both.

Not being used to affection from anyone but Ash, the mouse still found it hard to adapt to. Especially since everyone often liked to make teasing comments about it. Heck, the first time Buneary ever nuzzled against him, even the humans were making some strange comments about 'crushes' and 'love' and stuff like that. All because she was an affectionate girl and he was a boy. How embarrassing…

… Oh dear, and now his face was hot again. Even her Ice Beam wasn't cold enough to cool down his raging cheeks, it seemed. Ugh…

In all fairness, though, the ice on her paws seemed to have melted away. It was probably for the best, though. Considering where her paws were wrapped around, currently, he didn't want his neck to feel like ice while his cheeks felt like bonfires.

Hmm, speaking of Ice Beam, he suddenly found himself curious about something. Plus, it was a good excuse to get the girl off him before anybody started looking at them, so... "[H-Hey, er, so… how's about that Ice Beam, huh?]" he asked.

She got off him. "[Oh, you wanna know how that works, too, do ya?]"

With a small breath of relief at being released, he shook his head and looked up at her. "[Nah, I was just wondering... how'd you learn it? You don't look like much of an ice-type to me…]" He scratched his chin. "[…At least… I don't think you are…?]"

She giggled and sat down next to him. "[Nope! Normal all the way, baby~]"

He made a noise of amusement. This rabbit was the quirkiest 'normal' pokémon he'd ever seen…

"[So, yeah...]" she continued, "[I learned Ice Beam from a TM.]"

He gave her a quizzical glance. "[A… TM? What, like, a trademark?]"

She shrugged. "[Beats me. I just saw the word on the front, next to some random numbers.]"

"[Ah, alright then. Well, what was this TM thingy?]"

"[It's a special disk… thingy that teaches you moves if you hold it to your forehead for a little while.]"

Pikachu's eyes lit up. "[Oh, cool! Man, I hope Ash gets one. My old moves _are_ getting a bit stale.]"

She suddenly looked apologetic. "[Ah… well, you might be outta luck, I'm afraid. I think they're pretty gosh darn rare...]"

His ears dipped slightly. "[Aww, really?]"

"[Yeah. And even then, they only have one move on 'em, each. And they're one-use only. _And_ they only work with certain pokémon, I think. Tate tried giving me a pretty pink one, but it didn't do anything.]"

He clicked his fingers in disappointment. "[Drat. Talk about too good to be true. I was almost excited for a minute, there…]"

"[Ahah, sorry. Oh well, maybe you'll luck out and find one that works for you, someday. And who knows? Maybe you'll be able to use it more than once in the future, too.]"

"[Yeah, here's… hoping?]" Suddenly, something occurred to him. "[Wait a sec, who's Tate?]"

Her eyes widened slightly. "[I, um… it's… someone I knew a long while back.]"

Her flustered reaction surprised him. "[Er… not someone bad, I hope?]"

"[Ahah, nah. It's just an… old friend,]" she said, staring downwards.

He frowned concernedly. Was that a hint of… somberness? Gosh, he wasn't used to this sort of calm tone from her. Had something happened between her and this 'Tate'? Was it an old trainer of hers, or a sibling, or something? Heck, was it the gym leader from Hoenn? Either way, it was very strange…

Before he could ask her anything, she gave a sharp shake of the head and beamed in his direction. "[Ahaha, oh well. That's ancient history, anyway, so who cares, right?]"

He raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior. "[Oh… are you sure?]"

She nodded happily. "[Eyup! So, anyway, how're the cheeks 'n' tail? Feelin' less fiery?]"

He paused at the blatant change of topic. However, he soon shrugged to himself. If she didn't want to bring up past events, then who was he to push for them? "[Er… yeah, they're good, thanks. Hey, in fact…]" He brought his tail out for them to look at. It was looking far less red than before, and it wasn't anywhere near as sore, either. "[Yeah, you've worked wonders on 'em! You're a miracle worker, y'know that?]"

She bashfully fiddled around with her fluff. "[Naww. I didn't do that much, really.]"

He smirked. "[Heh, _now_ who's the modest one? Thanks to you, my tail feels _miles_ better, so I owe ya one. Heck, I might even owe you double, for that Iron Tail inspiration from before.]"

"[You owe me double, do ya? Ooh…~]" she murmured, stroking her chin.

A bead of sweat dripped down his head. "[Er… within reason, of course.]"

She mulled it over for a short while. "[Hmm… would you… maybe…]" She pulled her waist fluff up to her face. "[…like to go out with me?]"

His mind immediately screeched to a halt. "[W-Wait, _what_!?]"

"[F-For a walk! To a... lake I know! A friendly walk!]" she finished quickly, eyes going wider.

"[... Just a… walk?]" he asked, his heart still beating frantically.

She nodded. "[Yeah. Just that.]"

After a small pause, he relaxed. Oh, thank goodness. It would've been amazingly awkward if she'd meant… well, yeah. "[Ahh, right. Eheh, sorry, I… thought you meant something else.]"

She let go of her fluff, letting it fall back into place. "[Oh, okay.]" She began to fiddle with it again. "[I wonder what you thought I said. Ahaha…]"

"[Um… nothing special.]" He gave her a pleasant look. "[Anyway, yeah, I don't see why not. Sounds fun enough!]"

With a small exhale, she nodded and beamed back. "[Hee, fabulous~!]"

"[Er… you won't start spinning me around again, though, will you?]" he asked concernedly, remembering one of their first encounters.

"[I'll try not to~]" she responded, not exactly reassuring him. "[Either way, should we get going, then?]"

"[Yup, let's… Oh, wait.]" He stopped as he noticed that neither of them had finished their food yet. "[Ah, whoops. We were so busy chatting that we forgot to eat,]" he added, snickering.

Raising an eyebrow, she glanced down at their bowls. Upon seeing the food, she smiled sheepishly. "[Oh… ahaha, yeah, you're right. I've barely even touched mine!]" she replied, snickering alongside him.

"[Alright, well, how about we go after we've finished our food? We usually have an hour or so after eating before we start travelling again, so we'll have plenty of time.]"

She nodded. "[Okie dokes!]"

The two of them once again started on their poké-pellet meals, enjoying Brock's exotic, if not bland-looking, cooking.

Swallowing a mouthful, Pikachu looked toward Buneary. He saw that she was still nomming away at her pellets.

"[Taste good?]" he asked.

With a mouthful, she nodded. "[Mm-hmm!]"

"[Alrighty, cool.]"

She swallowed. "[Um, how's yours? Any good?]"

"[Sure is! I've _always_ loved Brock's food.]"

She looked at him with keen interest in her eyes. "[Ooh, is it your favorite thing to eat?]"

"[It's certainly up there, yeah.]" He tapped his fingers against the pellet he'd picked up. "[... That said, I'd prefer it with a little ketchup, but hey ho.]"

She tilted her head. "[Ketchup...? Huh. Never heard of that. Is it foreign?]"

He gasped lightly. "[You've never heard of tomato ketchup? Really!?]"

Her un-rolled ear perked up. "[Oooh, tomato, eh? _Now_ you've gotten me interested!]"

"[Yeah, it's the greatest thing on our planet, bar nothing!]"

"[Ahaha, you sure know how to sell it~]"

"[The stuff sells itself. It's pure bliss.]" Pikachu cocked his head as he realized something. "[Wait... tomatoes interest you, do they?]"

"[You betcha! Especially cherry tomatoes. They're delish~]"

"[Huh, okie dokes, then.]" He nibbled on the pellet he was holding onto. "[Y'know... I don't think I've eaten a normal tomato before, come to think of it.]"

Buneary gave a gasp of her own. "[Not even a cherry one!? But they're awesome, though!]"

He laughed. "[Gosh, for two mons who really love tomato-based stuff, we sure are missing out on the best of 'em, ain't we?]"

She laughed along. "[No kidding! We've gotta share 'em, sometime!]"

"[Hah, yeah! Sounds like a plan.]"

She made a happy noise. "[Welp, until then...]" She went back to eating the pellets in front of her.

Smiling, he also went back to work on his. He had to admit, as strange and overly-affectionate as she was, she could be a cool friend at times. She would take some getting used to, but he could easily see things working out between them.

* * *

Before too long, Pikachu found himself swallowing the last of his pellets. Then, with a happy sigh, he leaned back against his paws. Looking over at Buneary, he saw that she was still digging into hers, having more than half-way to go, still.

"[You struggling there, Buneary?]" he asked.

Swallowing, she gave him a curious gaze. "[Huh?]"

"[You've still got quite a lot left to get through.]"

She looked at her bowl. Then at his, as if comparing the two. Upon seeing the big difference, she frowned dejectedly. "[Aww, man... all that cheek massaging made me lag behind.]"

Pikachu rubbed the side of his head. "[Eheh, yeah. Sorry.]"

"[It's alright, Cutie.]" She winked at him. "[I'll forgive ya this time~]"

"[Um... th-thanks...]"

Her eyebrows dipped as she eyed up her bowl. "[Man, it's gonna take forever to finish this, though.]"

"[That's alright. You've got plenty of time to eat, so don't fret.]"

"[I guess...]" She picked up another piece to eat it. Before she did though, a thoughtful look spread over her face. Just as he considered asking what was wrong, she pointed forwards. "[Oh, er, hey, what's Ash doing?]"

With a tilt of the head, he glimpsed over. However, he didn't see anything special. Just Ash begging for more food, as always.

Done staring, he looked back at her. "[What's up? I don't see anything out of the ordin- … H-Huh!?]" He noticed that her bowl was completely empty. Aiming his gaze towards her, he burst into laughter. Her mouth was utterly filled with food, to the point where her cheeks were bulging. "[Umm… hungry much?]"

With a strain, she swallowed the entire thing before grinning sheepishly. "[Ahah, a lit-]" Without warning, she let loose a surprisingly decent belch. "[... -tle.]"

He couldn't help but laugh even harder. Oh, how shameless…

Going red, she covered her face with her fluff. "[Ohh nooo, how embarrassing…]"

"[D-Don't worry,]" he reassured, his laughter dying down. "[I don't think anyone else noticed.]"

Her eyes poked out from her fluff. "[Ohh, but you probably think I'm gross, now…]"

He shrugged. "[Hey, I just had frozen spit on my face. You think I mind?]"

Her fluff went lower. "[I-I… guess not.]"

He gave her a pat on the back. "[Exactly, so don't worry about it. Besides, better out than in, right?]"

Hesitantly, she let her fluff fall to her sides. "[Well… o-okie dokes, then. Thanks.]"

"[No probs! Besides, you should see Ash after finding a burger stall. Things get real ugly real fast, then...]"

She giggled. "[Oh, dear... Does he become a poison-type for the day?]"

He let another laugh escape his lips. "[Yeah... unfortunately for everyone else.]"

Their amusement continued for a little while. Eventually, Buneary quizzically rubbed her chin. "[I wonder what meat tastes like, anyway...]"

"[It's okay... but I prefer it with ketchup,]" he replied.

"[Ahaha, somehow, I'm not surprised.]"

He shrugged bashfully. "[Well, y'know...]"

"[So... you're a meat-eater, huh?]"

"[I guess so. I haven't eaten anything like that for a really long while, though. It's pretty fattening.]"

"[Ah, okay, then.]" Buneary fiddled with her fluff. "[I'll bet you've never hunted anything to get some meat before, though... right?]"

Pikachu raised an eyebrow. "[Huh? That's a bit of an odd thing to ask.]"

"[Well... it's good to know where you stand with all your teammates, y'know?]"

"[Makes sense, I guess. Well, I haven-...]" He paused and rocked his head from side to side before grinning. "[Oh, actually, yeah! I totally have! Man, you should see all the wurmple I've nommed on throughout the years!]"

He noticed the color immediately drain from her horrified face. "[Wh-What? Really?]"

His grin grew slightly evil. "[Yup! My best haul was the time I caught an entire clan of 'em with one swipe of my tail. It was sooo satisfying!]"

She began to look oddly green. "[O-Oh... I-I... um...]"

He briefly held a pause before cracking up and waving his paws dismissively. "[Alright, no, no, not really. I haven't hunted a single thing in my life.]"

She blinked. "[... R-Really?]"

"[Hah, yeah. I mean, I have heard of some chus that do that, but I ain't one of 'em. I promise!]"

She blinked again before letting loose a huge sigh of relief. Soon after, she frowned. "[Hmph! Oh, you jerk, Pikachu...]"

He grimaced apologetically. "[Ehehe, s-sorry... it's always too hard to resist that one.]"

With a roll of the eyes, she chuckled and lightly nudged him in the arm. "[Oh, I'll bet it is, mister...!]"

"[Am I safe with guessing that you're not a meat-eater, yourself, then?]" he asked, scratching his chin.

She nodded. "[Yeah, I wouldn't dream of it. Even if I wanted to, I just can't, or I'll be violently ill.]"

"[Ah, I get it. Because you're an herbivore pokémon, right?]"

"[Oh, heck, no. It's because I'm allergic.]"

He stared at her. "[... Huh? Then why did you look so sick when I was talking about the wurmple?]" He paused again. "[... And how did you find out about an allergy like that in the wild, anyway?]"

She tapped her paws together. "[Well... let's just say that I did a lot of picnic raiding back in the day. And one raid in particular had meaty sandwiches from some non-pokémon thing.]" She shivered. "[I was so sick afterwards, it felt like the world was going to end.]"

He gave a sympathetic look. "[Ah, um, oh dear. That sounded horrible...]"

"[It was...]" She pulled a face. "[Things were so bad, I don't even remember what it tasted like...]"

"[Dang...]" He let several seconds pass before tilting his head. "[Oh, yeah... and the wurmple story? Why was _that_ so bad?]"

"[Well, eating something that's already dead and killing something are two totally different things.]"

"[Hm, well, you've got me there, I guess.]" He clicked his tongue. "[Taking food from people, though... Tut tut...!]"

She rubbed the back of her head. "[... Human food's real good, what can I say?]"

He grinned slightly. "[Hm. Ah well, don't worry. I'm not exactly a saint myself.]"

She made a noise of amusement. "[Lemmie guess. Ketchup?]"

"[Yup. Guilty as charged...]"

"[Ahaha, oh you~]"

He made an amused noise of his own. Then, with a stretch, he stood up. "[Alright, you ready to head off, now we've finished eating?]"

She hopped onto her feet. "[You bet'cha!]"

"[Okay, cool.]" He gestured towards some bushes. "[Let's meet up in the bushes over there, then. I'll go and let Ash know we're off to explore.]"

"[Sure thing! He won't mind, right?]"

He shrugged. "[Doubt it. He usually doesn't care, so long as we stay close enough to warn 'em of danger.]"

"[Fair enough. Alrighty, see you soon, then, Cutie~]" She moved over to give him a quick nuzzle before hopping away towards the bushes.

Yet another bead of sweat dripped down his head as he watched her hop away. She was so affectionate…

Shrugging, he began towards Ash. Honestly, they could have 'spoken' to their trainers together… but he could do without having even more lovey-dovey accusations thrown his way. Besides, he didn't want to be seen walking away with her in tow. Especially not into the bushes. What would people even think?

Still, he didn't mind taking her on a trip to the… lake, was it? Yeah, it sounded interesting enough. Nearing Ash, he wondered what he was in for on his friendly 'date'…

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 15/06 (June)/2016

 **Word count:** 5,088

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Hooray for bonding! Even if they're an odd pair. It can only mean interesting times for the future… XP

 **Shameless promotion:** Yo, you guys should go and read/review Zack's Adventurous Life by ChristianDragon. It's a pretty fun adventure fic (as the title suggests) that involves an energetic umbreon and his friends going on various escapades around the pokeymon world.

It's wacky as all hell, and has quite a few amusing moments. The battle scenes are plentiful and entertaining, too! Especially once Team Rocket (the organisation, not the trio) get involved!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** "[And hey, you gave me the idea for using Iron Tail, too, **didn't I**?]"

(Oh, Pikachu, you little credit stealer…)

 **#2: '** Pikachu made a satisfied noise as he gorged on his pellets, along with the rest of his teammates.'

(Nuu! Pikachu's begun to eat all of his friends! That maniac! He must think they're all wurmple, or something...)

 **#3:** 'He stared ate her'

(Speaking of Pikachu being a predatory beast, he's going for Buneary! Unless... he means something else...)

Alright, and with that said, I'm off to play Fire Emblem Fates. Tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** Lakeside limbo


	3. Larks By The Lake

**Arc II:** The Big Blue

 **Chapter 3:** _Larks by The Lake_

* * *

"[Almost there~]" Buneary sang, still gripping onto Pikachu's paw.

Smiling, albeit exasperatedly, he continued to allow himself to be dragged along. He still had no idea what he was in for, but she seemed really eager about going to this lake place, so who was he to stop her? "[Eheh. If ya say so…]" he replied.

After another minute or so of walking, she stopped as they approached a wall of tall weeds. "[Ooh, here we are!]"

He tilted his head. "[Huh? How'd you know?]"

Letting go of his paw, she moved over to the weeds. "[Ahaha, oh, I'd recognize these plants anywhere, believe me,]" she explained, pointing towards some fuzzy, droopy-looking foliage. "[They only seem to like living around this lake.]"

He made a noise of understanding. The weeds looked like foxtails, which apparently enjoyed water-y areas. "[Makes sense.]" He looked around. "[So, where's the lake?]"

With a quick giggle, she held both of her paws against the weeds. "[Alrighty, feast your eyes…]" She pulled back the weeds like one would do with a curtain. "[… on this~!]"

As the foliage was pulled back, he couldn't stop himself from staring in awe. In front of him was a humongous, sparkling lake. It seemed as pristine and calm as the kind of stuff you'd see on a postcard.

Stepping past the rabbit and out of the weeds, his amazement only seemed to continue. The grassy bank surrounding the lake was completely coated in colorful flowers, making the place look bright and vibrant. In the distance, he noticed a large forest resting against a backdrop of mountains, which shined under the sunny, blue sky. The way it was all reflecting against the mirror-like surface of the shimmering, crystal-clear water gave the whole place a very dream-like appearance. More so than any lake he'd ever seen before... and he'd seen a _lot_ of lakes in his life.

Wow… he'd expected something pleasant, but nothing _this_ beautiful. It was almost like he'd stepped into a fairytale story! And the whole thing was so massive, too. It took up, like, half the forest!

Walking to his side, Buneary made an amused noise. "[Like it?]"

He nodded slowly, still staring in awe. "[Yeah... you could say that.]"

She beamed. "[Great~!]"

"[Seriously, this place is more sparkly than the lake they had in… er, that mystical forest near… Arborville, or wherever.]"

Her face lit up. "[Oooh, that's the forest where celebis live, right?]"

His eyes widened in surprise. "[Huh, yeah, it is! Gosh, I'm amazed you know about that place. It's somewhere we didn't find out about until Brock accidentally stepped on some brochure somebody dropped.]"

"[Ahaha, well, a bunny's gotta have _some_ secrets!]" she replied, tapping her nose.

He cocked his head at her. Eventually, he just shrugged and chuckled lightly. "[Well, if you say so. But yeah, this lake's actually prettier than that one, believe it or not.]"

"[Well, cool! Guess it's pretty popular for a reason.]"

She wasn't wrong. Dotted about the lake were many different pokémon. Most were splashing about in the water, though he saw quite a few resting around the bank, too. Looking further down the long lake, he saw what might have been hundreds more, just generally enjoying themselves.

"[Hah, 'pretty popular' sounds like the understatement of the century to me,]" he replied. "[What's it called, anyway?]"

"[Um... I dunno what the humans call it, but most mons call it Azure Lake.]"

"[Oh, cool. A pretty name to go along with a pretty lake.]"

"[That's _pretty_ much it. Ahaha~]"

Pikachu snorted. "[That one was _pretty_ terrible.]"

She giggled. "[Well, I thought it was _pretty_ good!]"

Shaking his head amusedly, he began towards the water's edge. As he reached it, he found a nice, grassy spot to sit down on, while Buneary sat beside him.

After a little while of comfortable silence, he tried thinking up some small talk. "[So... did you come here often when you were trainer-less?]"

She nodded. "[Yup! I even made a burrow around here at some point.]"

"[Really?]" He tilted his head. "[Huh, but we found you miles away from here, though.]"

"[Yeah, I moved away and got a new burrow.]"

"[Huh? Why? This lake seems like a pretty perfect place to live! Um, pun not intended. This time.]"

She huffed amusedly before continuing. "[Well, y'see... I thought it would be a cool idea to set up camp right next to the water. It was great for the summer I was there, but eventually…]" She pulled a sheepish look, "[… some rain made the water level go up, so I was flooded out. I even woke up floating in the middle of the lake after it happened. Ahaha…]"

He burst out laughing. "[Oh, lord… Um… guess you learned not to do that again, huh?]"

"[Well… kind of! When I relocated after some travel - 'cos I love to travel, y'see - I set up shop close to the road we met on. Just so I'd have something interesting to watch whenever someone passed by.]" She rubbed the back of her head. "[Er… there were a lot more vehicles than I expected, though. They kept waking me up at random times. And I've been nearly run over at least _seven_ times when trying to go out and do stuff.]"

He gave her an odd look. "[Oh dear… you're not the best at looking for burrow spots, are you? Um, no offense.]"

"[… Ahah… well, I _have_ been told that I don't think things out, sometimes, so… case in point?]"

"[Heh, well, at least you're not as bad as Ash when it comes to planning things out…]" He tilted his head. "[Still, if you hated where you lived so much, why didn't you just move again?]"

"[Are you kidding? It takes _ages_ to dig out a burrow! My first one took eight tries, because it kept collapsing. And the road one wasn't much better, either.]"

"[Ah. Fair point, I guess.]"

"[… That said, I _was_ using Dizzy Punch just to speed things up, so… hm…]" She rubbed her chin in thought. "[… Actually, I'm starting to think I should've just gone slow and steady from the beginning.]"

He couldn't help but give her an even odder look than before. Gosh… maybe Ash had some competition, after all. "[Yeah… might've helped a little,]" he replied in an amused tone.

Noticing the slightly bewildered look, she was getting, she chuckled awkwardly. "[S-So, say… did _you_ have a nice burrow when you were a wild pokém-?]" she began before stopping, seemingly realizing something. "[Oh, wait... I remember Piplup telling me you that you're a starter pokémon.]"

"[Yeah, that's right. They made me a part of a special 'electric starter' program that they were thinking about making standard. Don't think it ever took off, but hey.]"

"[Ooh, that's really cool! So I guess you're trained through and through, right?]"

He paused. "[... Err... kind of.]"

She looked confused. "[Kind of? You mean you _were_ wild?]"

"[Yeah... a little. But I was always surrounded by family, so I don't really count it.]"

"[Huh, alrighty. Hey, it's still worth something!]"

"[Heh, barely. I was so coddled as a kid that it would almost be cheating to say I was wild once.]"

"[Well… still! It's a lot more than what most starters can boast about.]"

He huffed amusedly. "[If ya say so.]"

"[Either way, I guess I can ask, then: was your old burrow nice?]"

"[Yeah, it was real swell! The kind that only a ground-type could make.]"

"[Oh, cool! Did you have a ground friend?]"

"[Yeah, it was dug out by my… um, big brother…]" His heart began to feel a little heavy when the memory of his brother resurfaced. Still, he tried to keep smiling. "[He's a… a sandshrew.]"

Seemingly, and thankfully, not picking up on his slight dip in mood, she gave an interested grin. "[Ooh, neat! Were you parents both sandslash, then?]"

He did a double-take. "[Huh? Both? But then wouldn't I be one, too?]"

She blinked. "[... Um, whoops. Good point...]"

He couldn't stop himself from laughing. "[Didn't think that one through much, huh?]"

She sheepishly scratched the side of her head. "[Well… I wasn't kidding when I said that I don't think things through. Ahaha…]"

He shook his head in amusement. "[Apparently so… But yeah, dadd- er, my dad's a raichu.]" His smile dipped slightly as he pictured him. "[… A real cool one.]"

"[Well, neat. Guess Sandshrew's from your mother's side of the family, then.]"

"[… Something like that, yeah.]"

She blinked before groaning quietly. "[… Wait, what am I saying? Where flipping else would he be from?]" She lightly bopped herself on the head and giggled. "[Tsk, I'm being so silly today, aren't I?]"

"[Eheh, only a little…]"

After a noise of amusement, her eyes drifted towards nothing in particular. "[Ah well. Must have been nice having a family that loved you, no matter what…]"

"[Yeah, it… really was.]" He took a sharp breath and looked out over the water. "[A-Anyway, let's not… talk about that anymore.]"

She gave him a peculiar look. "[Huh? What's wrong?]"

He looked back at her, beaming pleasantly again. "[Ah… nothing!]"

She frowned slightly, not looking very convinced. Even as he flashed his best reassuring smile her way.

"[… Oh, y'know what?]" he started again. "[It's just that I'm _really_ itching to… talk about something else that's been on my mind.]"

She tilted her head. "[You are?]"

Fidgeting nervously, he racked his brains for a new topic. "[Yeah, I wanted to talk about the… er…]" He nearly clicked his fingers, though he stopped himself. "[Yes, that contest from the other day! It was really awesome, wasn't it?]"

Her face brightened. "[Ooh, alrighty then! Yeah, it certainly was! I love regular battling on its own… but dialing the prettiness up to eleven, too? Absolutely amaaazing~]"

He chuckled, his happy look feeling more genuine. "[Glad to hear it! Thought you'd be the type to love that kind of thing.]"

"[Well, you weren't wrong~]" Her face fell slightly. "[Shame I goofed it up and lost, though. I wanted to make Dawn proud for our first ever contest battle…]"

He gave her back a comforting pat. "[Heyy, don't be like that. For a first-timer, you did super!]"

She brought her paws up to her cheeks, the starry-eyed look of hers returning. "[You... think so?]"

He nodded eagerly. "[Totally! Man, I was amazed by your tough elegance out there!]"

"[Tough _elegance?_ ]"

He nodded eagerly. "[For sure! Slipping up that glameow by freezing the floor must've taken a heck-load of power! And you were so acrobatic with all those backflip Bounces you did on top of her back in a row. Oh man, and you looked like a flipping _samurai_ when you caught Glameow's Iron Tail with your ears.]" He clapped his paws together above his head for emphasis. "[You could _never_ tell me that wasn't awesome!]"

"[Ahah... oh, well... gosh...]" She brought her fluff up to her face, which could currently put tomatoes to shame. Appropriately enough. "[I-It wasn't all _that_ great... I didn't even do anything cute or pretty, really...]"

"[Sure ya did! You moved with such style and grace out there. It was a real cool thing to see!]" he praised, giving her a thumbs up.

She shuffled about excitedly while letting loose a strange high-pitched squeal of delight. Then, nuzzling him playfully, she giggled. "[Oh, my! Who knew you were so flirtatious?]"

He paused for what felt like an eternity. Oh, good lord, it really had sounded like flirting, hadn't it!? Oh no, he hadn't meant to gush so much! "[Ah, o-oh, man! S-Sorry, Buneary! I wasn't... er, I-I didn't mean to, I just...]"

She stopped nuzzling to give him a quizzical glance. "[Oh… so you think it'd be weird to flirt with someone like me, is that what you're saying?]"

He began to cold sweat. "[Th-That's not what I meant at all! I'm sure you're a lovely bunny to flirt with!]" He blinked. "[... Er, but that doesn't mean I want to, of course.]"

"[Aww, so you don't think I'm a mon who's worth flirting with...?]"

His cold sweating levels climbed ten times higher. "[N-No! Of course you are! I'm just not the flirty type! I-It's not 'cos I think no pokémon would ever want date you, or anyth-]"

Before he could ramble some more, she began to chuckle, much to his surprise. "[Hey, hey, don't worry, I'm just teasing ya~]"

His panicked breaths slowed. "[You... are?]"

She pat him on the head with an ear reassuringly. "[Yup! After all, I know you're not the kind of mousey to do that with-]"

Suddenly, there was a humongous splash in front of them as something burst out of the water, silhouetting against the sun in the sky.

Both friends screamed at once. Pikachu yelped even louder as Buneary clung to his side out of fright. Oh, dear lord, what was going on!? Were they under attack by a predator? Or by Team Rocket? Or by _Paul!?_

Whatever it was, it landed right by their feet, looming over them with a frown. "[Aha! So _there_ you two are!]" their assailant proclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "[ _Hmph_! Going out for a walk without taking me along... How rude!]"

Pikachu blinked. A bead of sweat went down the side of his head. "[Oh… sorry, Piplup,]" he apologized, catching his breath.

With a relieved sigh, Buneary let go of the mouse and clutched at her chest. "[Oh, good lordy, Piplup, you almost gave me a flipping heart attack!]" she scolded, panting.

"[That's what you get for leaving poor me alone,]" Piplup chided before turning to face Pikachu. "[You're the only guy on the team who doesn't mind me talking about how awesome I am, Pikachu. So I'm hanging with you!]"

The mouse smiled at the new arrival, albeit exasperatedly. Why wasn't he surprised that was the reason…? Still, he appreciated it somewhat. While Buneary hadn't seemed to mind his embarrassing tirade... he didn't trust himself not to dig another hole. Not without someone there to stop him, anyway.

It was... kind of strange, though. The way Buneary had spoken before Piplup had arrived had almost sounded... flirty. Like, _insanely_ flirty. Heck, she'd even seemed to _want_ him to flirt back...

That said, he still remembered her words from earlier, when he'd thought that she'd asked him to date her. She'd been insistent that she'd only meant 'going out for a walk' and not 'going out as a couple', which was weird for a flirter. Brock, for instance, would have doubled down on asking for a date...

Yeah, it must have simply been some non-serious, playful flirting for fun. Just like the kind of stuff his friend Totodile used to do with some girls. The ones who weren't Azumaril or Quagsire, anyway, who he'd actually legitimately liked.

Either way, the mouse didn't want to experiment by flirting back, that's for sure. Not unless he wanted to humiliate himself to death. Romance was an embarrassing, unpleasant subject, so he tended to avoid it, if he could. Something that was proving surprisingly difficult, as of late.

Looking over at the rabbit, he could see that she didn't quite share his enthusiasm at seeing Piplup. She was giving the penguin an unimpressed look, as if annoyed. "[Yeah, well…]" she began, "[me and Pikachu were having a quiet moment alone. Together. Just _us_ two.]"

Pikachu expected him to get annoyed at that. Instead, however, he looked between him and Buneary a few times, shooting them a curious look. Realization grew on his face. "[Oh, right, sorry. Am I interrupting a date, or something?]" he asked.

"[ _Huh_!? What do ya mean ' _date_ '?]" Pikachu exclaimed, face threatening to flush again.

The penguin shrugged. "[Well, y'know. A romantic one, duh.]"

Pikachu could only groan at that. Seriously, was this going to be a common thing in this region? Insisting that he and Buneary were dating?

"[H-Hey, it's nothing like that!]" Buneary interjected, waving her paws defensively. "[It's just a... y'know, friendly get-together.]"

"[Y-Yeah, exactly!]" Pikachu added. "[Just us friends being friends!]"

Piplup's head jerked back in surprise. "[Huh? _Friendly_? Really?]"

"[Yup!]" Buneary replied quickly.

The penguin tilted his head. "[Eh? Even though you clearly have a crush on him?]"

"[W-What? I never… said anything like that…]" she mumbled, awkwardly patting her paws together.

"[But you're constantly giving him googly eyes! And complimenting him instead of me, even though I'm just as awesome! Heck, you're even wanting alone time with the guy! Are you _seriously_ trying to tell me that there's nothing special there!?]"

She paused. "[... Well... yeah. Exactly.]"

He blinked. Then he began to laugh. "[Oh, man, that's a bigger fib than whenever people tell me I'm not cool!]"

Pikachu massaged the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Man, Piplup was deluded. If the mouse were meaner, he was sure he'd have a snarky response for that. And, considering how teasing the penguin was being, it was honestly tempting to come up with one, too…

The rabbit groaned flusteredly before hiding behind her fluff in, what Pikachu assumed was, embarrassment. "[Th-That's... I mean...]"

"[Alright, cut it out, Piplup,]" Pikachu interjected, holding up a paw to quieten him. "[Bun's clearly not into that, so stop badgering.]"

Piplup crossed his arms. "[Hmph! Like heck...]"

Before Pikachu could respond, he heard Buneary gasp lightly. Looking at her, he saw that she seemed somewhat surprised. "[Did you... call me 'Bun'?]"

"[Oh, er... are you alright with that?]" he asked.

She flailed her feet excitedly. "[Heee, absolutely~! It's like a nickname!]"

"[Oh, well, alright then…]" he replied, failing to hide the confused amusement in his voice. "[Bun it is, I guess.]"

Piplup groaned. "[Oh, c'mon! Now you're giving each other cutesy nicknames, for flip's sake!]"

Pikachu tried to avoid rolling his eyes. "[It's not all that cutesy, Piplup...]"

"[Hmph! Well, it's more than you've ever given me! Where's _my_ cutesy nickname?]" He blinked. "[… I mean cool! _Cool_ nickname.]"

Grinning lightly, Pikachu sighed. "[Alright... I'll call you 'Pip', if ya want.]"

Piplup put his wing-like flippers to his hips. "[Much better!]"

Calming down from her excitement, Buneary shrugged, the unimpressed look threatening to return. "[Eh. Reminds me of an apple seed, honestly...]"

"[Well... good! Because I'm _excellent_ at growing into something awesome!]"

Pikachu laughed. "[Alright, that was a pretty cool response.]"

Piplup's eyes widened for a second. Before Pikachu could decide what emotion was on his face, however, the penguin went back to looking smug. "[Y-Yes, of course it was! Glad to see you agree.]"

Pikachu shook his head exasperatedly. Why was Dawn's team so easy to compliment?

"[Anyway, you totally interrupted our convo, Piplup!]" Buneary complained. "[We were enjoying ourselves until you burst outta the water…]"

"[Oh, my bad,]" Piplup apologized. "[What were you talking about? Maybe I can make the topic eight times better to make up for it!]"

Pikachu scratched his chin in thought. What had they been talking about, again?

… Oh, yeah. Flirting. Dear legends, he didn't want to tell Piplup that! The guy was already being tease-y enough as it was!

Seeing Buneary begin to move her mouth to speak, he panicked slightly. "[Um, I, er, the contest! Yeah, that was it,]" he interjected quickly.

Piplup's face brightened. "[Ooh, is that so?]"

Buneary gave Pikachu a slightly odd look, though she soon shrugged and nodded. "[Yeah, totally! He was complimenting me on how well I did.]"

"[Oh, sweet. Yeah, you were pretty impressive out there,]" he complimented, his expression turning friendly.

"[Ahah, oh, thanks, Piplup~]" she responded, returning his pleasant look.

"[… Of course…]" Piplup continued, "[… I did the _most_ impressive in the contest!]"

Buneary's smile was quickly replaced with an annoyed frown. "[Ughh…]"

Pikachu gave the water-type a disapproving gaze. "[That's a bit unfair, Pip. You didn't even do the same contest category. You did appeal, while Bun did the battling.]"

"[True… but on the grand scale of things, nothing could top my contesting!]" Piplup boasted. "[I mean seriously, did you see me out there? I don't think anybody could _ever_ use a Bubble Beam as well as _I_ did! And the way I popped 'em afterwards with my beak? Oh, Arceus, it was so _cool!_ After all, it takes an absolute professional in order to-]" He continued to ramble, even as Pikachu, and most likely Buneary, began to zone out.

The mouse couldn't say he was surprised by the rambles, really. The penguin was so obsessed with himself that even Drew would have been impressed by his narcissism…

He glanced at Buneary and noticed her rolling her eyes, not that he could blame her. Chuckling, he shrugged exaggeratedly while rolling his own eyes, which made her giggle quietly. As Piplup continued to stroke his ego, Buneary eventually clasped her wrists together. Then she moved her paws up and down like lips, mimicking Piplup's rambling.

Pikachu had to slap his paws over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Thankfully, the penguin was too engrossed in his bragging to notice either of them.

As Piplup continued his rambles, Buneary began to pull a mockingly derpy expression. Unable to hold it in any longer, a laugh forced its way out of the mouse's throat.

Piplup suddenly stopped rambling to scowl at him. "[Heyy, why're you laughing, you jerk!?]" he demanded before dancing flusterdly. "[Me becoming the ultimate contest champion isn't funny!]"

Pikachu immediately straightened. "[Ah! O-Oh, um, sorry, Piplup! I-I wasn't laughing at you.]"

The penguin calmed, though his scowl remained. "[Hmph! Then what _were_ you laughing at?]"

Pikachu felt like a naughty schoolchild who'd just been caught by the teacher. "[I… er…]"

"[Um, sorry. I made him laugh,]" Buneary interjected, pulling a sheepish face. "[I was… joking about. Ahaha…]"

Piplup crossed his arms in annoyance. "[So you were talking over me, were you?]" He turned his head away. "[ _Hmph_! Rude, much?]"

She scratched the back of her head. "[S-Sorry, sir. Er, Piplup.]"

The penguin sighed before shrugging. "[Alright, well, I guess I can forgive you _thiiis_ time…]" He shot her a look. "[But don't let it happen again, or I'm _so_ Pecking you!]"

Some sweat visibly rolled down the side of her head. "[Sure…]"

In relief, Pikachu exhaled slowly before shooting her an appreciative glance, which she accepted with a grin. It would've been _so_ awkward if he'd had to answer for himself. And his head hurt just _thinking_ about the Pecking it might have gotten, too.

"[So,]" Piplup started, sitting down in front of them, "[what's so funny? Must be _pretty_ amusing if you'd rather talk about that than my awesome accomplishments.]"

Pikachu tapped his fingers together in thought. "[Umm… oh, yeah! We were just… remembering Brock's shenanigans with Croagunk from a few days ago,]" he explained.

"[Ahaha, yeah,]" Buneary joined in. "[Remember when he Poison Jabbed Brock in the butt for flirting with that random lady?]"

Piplup paused contemplatively before chuckling. "[Oh yeah! That was funny.]" He winced. "[Made him look _reaaaally_ possessive, though.]"

Pikachu and Buneary agreed with him wholeheartedly.

"[Ain't the first time he's done it, either,]" Pikachu added. "[A few days before we met you, Bun, he forced his way out of his ball, just so he could jab Brock. The guy he'd barely met a few minutes ago by that point…]"

"[Oh, jeez. He's almost like a crazy, jealous lover, or something…]" Buneary added.

"[I hope you don't go that way for Pikachu…]" Piplup remarked, looking in her direction.

She and Pikachu groaned. Not this again…

"[Hmph! Of course I wouldn't…]" she responded. "[What kind of bunny do ya take me for?]"

The penguin gave a dry look. "[One that's overly obsessed with a certain, yellow mouse, maybe?]"

"[Yeah, well… nyeh!]" She stuck her tongue out at him.

He moved about irritably. "[Grrr, you're such a jerk!]"

Pikachu exhaled through his nose before holding up his paws. "[Alright, cut it out, you two. We're all friends, right?]"

With a somewhat sulky noise, they both reluctantly relented and made up, though most likely not for long.

"[Anyways, I'm sure Croagunk won't keep beating him up for too long. Remember what that Friendship Checker said about those two? They filled the whole friendship bar… somehow.]"

Piplup shook his head dismissively. "[Eh, I wouldn't trust it. After all, it said my relationship with Dawn was awful.]" He frowned. "[Seriously. _Awful!_ Can you believe it!? Flipping thing _sucks…_ ]"

"[I dunno… it said my friendship with Ash was awesome, which Is totally right. Even if he can be a bit of a dope, sometimes…]" The mouse paused. "[… Er, most times.]"

The penguin huffed. "[Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day! Or a broken watch, as the case may be.]"

Buneary giggled at the pun. However, Pikachu could only groan and shrug amusedly.

"[If you say so, Pip…]" he muttered.

Buneary looked somewhat thoughtful. "[Friendship Checker… Man, I wonder how many other weird things Dawn can get on her… pokey-watch.]"

Piplup cocked his head. "[Huh? You mean the pokétch?]"

She looked slightly embarrassed. "[Hey, I was close…! I've never been good with weird-sounding names…]"

"[Clearly! It ain't _that_ weird.]"

She huffed. "[Yeah, well… I think it's pretty-]"

A loud splash resounded nearby. One that was louder than the one Piplup had caused. Snapping his attention to it, the mouse saw something huge rising up from the water, causing all the pokémon in the area to scatter away in panic.

"[W-What the heck!?]" Buneary exclaimed, scrambling behind Pikachu while staring at it in horror.

Piplup screeched and leapt away from the water in surprise. He stumbled and collided with Pikachu and Buneary, making them all fall backwards into a heap.

While they lay there, groaning, Pikachu glanced at the water from the corner of his eye. He saw the huge thing fully rise out near the middle of the lake. It was red and yellow, had angry eyes, a big weird snout, several long tentacles… and a big, dark red letter R on its forehead.

Pikachu's face fell. Oh no.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished-**  
 **Old stuff:** 18/06 (June)/2016  
 **New stuff:** 18/06/ (June)/2017 (Happy birthday to the chapter, I guess!)

 **Word count:** 4,344

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** If you'll recall, this chapter ended differently before. Well not anymore! Now it's annoying trio time! Stay tuned for some more fun times which Pikachu will hate!

Also, mad props to ravengal and MewLover54 for reading this pizza crap and giving me feedback. Originally, the chappie was a lot more boring, but, thanks to them, it became slightly less so. :P  
Oh, and on that note, extra props to ravengal for inventing Pikachu's big brudder, Sandshrew. I couldn't think of a species for him for the longest time, but sandshrew is a pretty baller pokémon, so it works for me!

 **Shameless promotion:** Have you heard the news? **ravengal** released a new fic called **Shallow Waters**! Considering that this chapter has a lake in it, I'd say it's an appropriate fic to advertise, don't you? XP

It's a Unova fic which features Dawn and the gang visiting Cynthia. When they get there, Pikachu, Ash and their friends are all visiting, too! Buneary, the quirky lagomorph, is very pleased about this for obvious reasons. So much so, in fact, that she might even just confess her feelings to a certain mouse! However, her nerves are not exactly made of iron, so she may run into some struggles!

I should get a career in advertising, I swear.

 **Fun mistakes of the day #1:** "[Alrighty, feast your eyes…]" She pulled back **the weed** like one would do with a curtain. "[…on this~!]"

(420 smoke Bun e'rry day)

 **#2:** 'She rubbed her chin in thought. "[… Actually, I'm **tarting** ]"'

(Buneary becomes a town bicycle.)

 **#3:** "[Heh, barely. Heck, my big b then, right?ro's the one who dug up the burrow I grew up in.]"

(The script's been edited quite a lot since this mistake, but oh, good lord. I'll bet Buneary wants his big b… though she'll have to fight ro for it.)

 **#4:** "[It must've taken loads of strength to freeze the entire floor to slip up that Glameow by freezing the floor...]"

(BadBatman&RobinMrFreezeIcepun .mp3)

 **#5: '** Then, without a beat, it landed right by their feet.'

(Not really a mistake, but dayum, son, those be some phat rhymes, yo! It almost sounds like flipping song lyrics.)

Alright, and with that out the way, I'm off to get ticked off at Kirby's stupid True Arena BS again… except not anymore! Since writing that message, I freaking did it with the archer ability! Go me!  
Either way, tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Prepare for trouble!_


	4. Big Drips

**Chapter 4:** _Big Drips_

* * *

Still in a heap, Pikachu, Piplup and Buneary continued to stare at the huge, red monstrosity that was rising from the depths of the lake. Although it was obviously a giant robot, the mouse couldn't help but feel creeped out by how lifelike it was. Especially as its many tremendously long tentacles wiggled around aimlessly, flopping this way and that. It was almost like an actual giant octillery, though its realism was let down by its hollow eyes. Clearly the cockpit for the ones driving the big mecha.

Glancing at his friends, he noticed them looking quite perturbed. Buneary, especially. Looking back at the mecha, however, the mouse just groaned irritably. For frick's sake… he only wanted a nice, relaxing day for once. But no, of course Team Waste Of Life had to come and ruin things. Figures…

One of the large tentacles belonging to the mecha surfaced out of the water and lunged at them. Sighing, the mouse rolled onto his back and kicked Piplup upwards. Then, pushing Buneary to the side, he dodged away from the tentacle while it zipped past, crashing against the lake bank.

"[ _Ahhh!_ What the flipping- Oof!]" Piplup cried, interrupted by landing on top of the red tentacle.

Getting to his feet, Pikachu called out to them. "[You two okay, over there?]"

"[Y-Yeah, I'm fine!]" Buneary responded from the other side of the tentacle.

Getting to his feet, Piplup angrily flailed around. "[You just _kicked_ me! Do I _look_ okay!?]" he shouted. "[I swear to Arceus, Pika-]"

A yellow spot on the tentacle opened up and sprouted a dozen black cord-like mini-tentacles. They wrapped around the penguin.

Completely bound up, Piplup screeched in distress. "[What the flipping _Hell!?_ _Get off meeeee!_ ]" he yelled, wriggling around furiously.

"[Ah, Piplup!]" Buneary yelled. Jumping onto the tentacle, she began to yank on the cords. "[Geddoff him!]"

Frowning determinedly, Pikachu also jumped onto the tentacle. Landing on it, he stared down the length of it in shock. Jeez… how _big_ was it, this time!? The tentacle he was on was longer than, like, six trees stacked on top of each other, or something!

Shaking his thoughts clear, he moved closer to Piplup and grabbed the cords, tugging with all his might. After much effort, the cords loosened their grip and then splayed across the floor.

"[You okay?]" Pikachu and Buneary asked, moving closer.

"[Yes, thanks…]" Piplup groaned, looking pretty relieved. "[I'm- _Ack!_ ]"

The cords came back to life and started wrapping around them. The trio tried to run, but they were snapped into place, tied together back to back.

"[… Oops,]" Buneary muttered.

Taking a breath, Pikachu struggled as hard as he could, along with the others. However, it was fruitless; the cords were far too tough to break through. Giving up, he groaned. This was just his frigging luck.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the mecha's eye-shaped cockpit opened up, revealing the three laughing pokémon poachers he hated so much. He had to squint to see them, but he could clearly tell who it was.

"Look, are those twerp-less pokémon I see?" the female grunt started, audible through some speakers.

"It's as clear to you as it is to me!" the male grunt responded.

"Den nabbin' 'em's gonna be a piece of cake!" their talking pet meowth continued.

"… Meowth, that didn't rhyme at all!" the female grunt chastised. "… And for that matter, it wasn't your turn to talk!"

He frowned up at her. "Aww, gimmie a break, Jess! I never get any good lines in dese tings."

"I don't care, Meowth! There's a formula we have to follow!"

"[I'm important!]" her wobbuffet yelled randomly.

"[Me too, yay~]" the male grunt's mime. jr added.

The team continued to ramble to each other, but Pikachu opted to ignore them. Instead, he frantically looked about, trying to find a way out. Usually, he'd just wait until Ash told him what to do. Something that always seemed to work out okay. However, his trainer was still back at the campsite, so that was probably a no-go this time.

"[Pikachu, w-what're we gonna do?]" Piplup asked worriedly. "[I can't move! And this is _really_ starting to get uncomfortable!]"

"[I dunno,]" Pikachu responded, angling his head so he could see the penguin behind him. "[I… could try zapping 'em until something happens, I guess.]"

"[Don't you dare! You'll fry us!]" the penguin snapped, wriggling again.

Pikachu exhaled through his nose. Piplup was right. He and Buneary would get zapped pretty badly if the mouse went all out. "[Alright, well… how about Bubble Beam? Or Peck? Or something?]"

"[I can't reach! And before you ask, I can't Bide without an attack!]"

Pikachu exhaled again. In that case, although he didn't want to… electrocuting the mecha would be _really_ effective, what with it being covered in water. "[Well, I'm sorry, Pip, but if there's no other way, I'm gonna have to zap it!]" he responded.

Piplup squealed and wriggled much harder than before, as if panicking.

Sighing, Pikachu angled his head to the other side to see Buneary. "[What do you think, Bun?]"

She only grunted heavily in response. Curious, he angled his head some more, wondering if she was alright. As he did, he heard a snapping noise.

Startled, he forced his head to turn as far as it could go. Peeking over the rabbit's shoulder, he barely managed to catch a glimpse of her pulling some cords apart until they snapped.

His eyes widened in surprise. Good lord, she was stronger than she looked. Still, he couldn't complain! "[Whoo! Good job!]" he chimed. "[Keep on going!]"

Her face scrunched up into a half-happy, half-strained look. Eventually, with much more effort, she managed to snap enough cords for them to break free. Though not without Piplup accidentally flopping onto his front.

While the female grunt and the meowth continued to argue, the male grunt screamed in his usual flamboyant way. "Oh no, they're getting away!" he yelled, flailing his arms around.

Snapping to attention, the female grunt and the meowth made panicked noises of their own, also flailing their arms.

"What da-!? How'd dey break free from our Radical, Armed, Pokémon-Ingestin' Sub-Tank?" the meowth yelled.

"Meowth! I told you not to call it that!" the female grunt shouted, looking red in the face.

"Aww, sheesh, fine! Dey're escapin' our 'Octillerybot Mark… Whatever'! Point still stands!"

Getting into a battle-ready stance, Pikachu raised an eyebrow. 'Pokémon-Ingesting'? The heck?

"Activating the vacuum!" the male grunt yelled as the cover to their cockpit went back down.

After a pause, Pikachu could hear a whirring noise coming from the machine's snout in the distance. He jolted as the tentacle rose into the air, becoming level with it. Just as he wondered what they were up to, a fierce wind started up out of nowhere, sucking them towards it. Oh…

Yelping, he scrambled for a cord as the wind started to grab at him. He managed to cling onto one just as he became airborne. "[Quickly, grab something!]" he yelled to his friends.

Squealing, Piplup had begun to slide across the tentacle on his front. Getting up, he ran as quickly as his legs would take him. Somehow, he managed to outrun the strong wind and grab onto Pikachu's leg.

Buneary tried to do the same, though she struggled, clearly not being one for running. Deciding to hop, she squeaked as the wind caught her in midair, sucking her towards them.

"[Ah, Buneary, no!]" Pikachu called out. _Shoot!_

Twisting herself around to face the mecha, the rabbit fired a huge bolt of blue energy from her mouth. It engulfed the huge vacuum, incasing it in a thick sheet of ice. As a result, the wind began to die down.

Finding his footing again, Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. He frowned, however, as he noticed that she was still sailing through the air on momentum.

Before she could hit the mecha's face, though, wind began to gather around her feet. A sign she was about to use Bounce. However, she was headed straight for the sheet of ice she'd just created.

A breath caught in his throat. "[Oh, no…]" he muttered.

"[What? What's up?]" Piplup asked, getting to his feet.

Pikachu scrambled to pick up a cord and throw it towards him. "[We haven't won, yet, so hang onto this!]" he replied, starting to run in Buneary's direction on all fours.

"[Hey, don't be vague when we're fighting for our flipping livelihood!]" Piplup called after him, catching the cord. "[Dangit, Pikachu!]"

Some sweat went down the mouse's head as he ran. Maybe he had a point, actually. Mentally shrugging, Pikachu just picked up the pace, sprinting down the long tentacle.

As expected, Buneary landed on the sheet of ice and bounded off it. Coming back down, she used her ears to bounce off the tentacle and then skid to a landing on her feet. She posed triumphantly towards Team Rocket, until the huge cracks she'd left behind on the ice slowly began to grow. He couldn't see her face, but he imagined that she had begun to look quite horrified.

"Hah! We'll see who puts _who_ on ice!" the meowth taunted from a speaker, his silhouette dancing about in the cockpit.

The cracks continued to grow in the ice. Squealing, Buneary turned tail and hopped away in the opposite direction just as the ice shattered with a thunderous crash.

Swearing under his breath, Pikachu skidded into a one-eighty spin, stopping in front of Buneary's path. "[Quickly, hop on!]" he called to her.

With several short hops, she lunged forwards, landing onto his back. Feeling her weight on him, he broke off into a sprint with Quick Attack. Just as the strong winds began to pick up again.

Despite the wind, he was actually managing to make some progress. Almost as if he were winning against a treadmill. However, he felt Buneary begin to lose her grip and slip down his back, and eventually his tail.

He hissed in pain as she gripped onto the sore spot Turtwig had bitten earlier. Chewing his lip, he tried to ignore the harsh stinging, even squeezing his eyes shut as pained tears clouded his vision. He yelped as his nose bumped into something, stopping his movement. What the…!?

Forcing his eyes open, he nearly jumped back in surprise. The tentacle he'd ran across earlier had risen, basically forming a wall in front of him. Unable to progress, the wind slowly dragged him backwards.

Undeterred, he frowned and ran again, even as his head pressed against the uplifted tentacle. Unfortunately, it continued to lift, making him slip and slide onto his front. The vacuum pulled him backwards again.

"Nice try, Pikachu!" the meowth taunted, cackling. "But de only place you and your date are headed is to de boss' office!"

"That's right!" the male grunt continued. "Just like our little robo, he's hungry for a chance to meet you!"

"So don't delay! Get in its mouth today~!" the female grunt sang.

Pikachu had to hold back the urge to growl. He hated those guys _so_ much.

He rolled onto his back as he was dragged along. Buneary was lying on her front ahead of him, thankfully not holding his tail anymore. That didn't change things too much, though. It still stung, and they were still in trouble.

"[W-What now?]" she asked, looking worried.

He let sparks escape his cheeks. "[Only one thing for it. Thunder _boooolt!_ ]" he replied, unleashing a bolt of electricity over her head, towards the mecha. It travelled a fair distance away before striking further along the tentacle. He kept the attack going, knowing it would travel towards the mecha's head… but, hearing no screaming, he began to get confused. This should be super effective, so what was going on?

The trio laughed in response after a beat.

"See, Jess?" the meowth started. "I told you making dis baby outta rubber was better den usin' metal!"

Hearing that, Pikachu cut off his attack. Of course, it couldn't be _that_ easy.

"I guess so," the female grunt replied with a sigh. "Even if it _did_ cost us meals for the next week…"

"After we finish the job, we'll be eating for the next _decade!_ " the male grunt replied with a silly laugh.

Scowling, the mouse looked around for another way to escape. He was at a loss, however. The tentacle had nothing for him to cling onto, trying to jump off it would just make him vulnerable to the wind, and he had no other useful attacks. At least, none he had easy access to.

That said, he did have _one_ idea. "[Hey, Buneary, use Ice Beam on it again!]" he shouted.

"[Oh, er, sure!]" she responded. She paused, looking unsure. "[But wait… it broke really easily the first time, remember?]"

"[But you smashed it with Bounce, back then! Just don't smash it, this time!]"

She blinked. "[… Good point. Well, okay, then!]" She rolled onto her back and fired another beam of icy energy at the mecha's vacuum snout.

Pikachu grinned. It turned into a shocked look, however, as a different tentacle blocked her attack, making it useless. She tried to readjust her aim, but it was no use; the tentacle was simply too large. Especially as ice began to build up on it. The suction, however, had no trouble getting past it and pulling them closer.

Team Rocket sang an annoying song in response, causing Pikachu to grit his teeth as dark thoughts crossed his mind.

"[… Wait, new plan!]" Buneary exclaimed, shakily getting to her feet despite the vacuum's pull.

Remembering the rabbit's less than inspiring burrow tales, Pikachu grimaced slightly. "[Um… what's that, Bun?]" he asked.

"[… They can't catch _all_ of us!]" She leapt high into the air and fired a bolt of energy downwards, which caused a pillar of ice to form directly in front of Pikachu.

He yelped as he stopped suddenly. Quickly recovering, he was happy to see that the ice was blocking the vacuum. Peering past the ice, however, his heart stopped dead. She was being sucked closer and closer to the snout of the octillery, but was tumbling too much to aim her Ice Beam effectively.

His breathing grew slightly frantic. She was going to get caught because of him! And if that happened… he had no idea if he could save her. Short of having to sacrifice himself again, anyway… though he knew for a _fact_ they wouldn't keep their end of the bargain.

His mind began to race with thoughts, so much so that it began to throb. None of his plans sounded good, though, and he was rapidly running out of time! He hopped out from behind his cover and ran down the tentacle towards the mecha again. Hopefully, something would spring to mind before the inevitable happened.

His cheeks sparked and he prepared a Thunderbolt, until an attack was launched at the octillery. One that wasn't his.

He jumped in surprise as the stream of blue projectiles exploded against the mecha. What? Looking down at the water where it was coming from, he cheered. "[Piplup!]" he chimed.

"[Don't eat my partner, you _jerrrrks_!]" the penguin yelled, somehow able to shoot bubbles at the same time.

The attack knocked the vacuum's aim off-balance as the snout was forced away. Just in time for Buneary to go splat against the mecha's head.

The rocket grunts screamed their silly scream.

" _Hey!_ Bubbles off the merchandise!" the female grunt yelled.

"This didn't come cheap, y'know!" the male grunt yelled.

"Well, it ain't over yet, so quit yer yappin'!" the meowth yelled, flipping switches. "Geddem, tentacles!"

All the tentacles surrounding their mecha suddenly came to life, wiggling furiously. Pikachu struggled to keep his footing when the one he was standing on also waved about.

Glancing at Piplup, he saw a tentacle try to slam onto him. Cutting off his attack, the penguin dived underwater to avoid it.

While looking to see if Buneary was alright, Pikachu jolted as two huge tentacles suddenly appeared in front of him, poised like vipers ready to strike.

Stopping, he took a battle stance on all fours, waiting to see what they would do. He preemptively activated his Iron Tail as one of them dipped suspiciously.

It lunged at him all of a sudden, so he swung around and knocked it to the side with his tail. The second one lashed out, so he back-flipped, swinging his tail into it to knock it higher into the air, away from him.

He huffed proudly. However, he wasn't out of the woods yet, so he stayed vigilant, wondering what to do next. Noticing a tentacle he'd smacked away begin to return, he set off running across the tentacle he was on, back towards the mecha's head. As he moved along, he spotted Buneary. She was trying to climb the mecha's head, though she seemed to be struggling slightly. Especially as a tentacle rose from the water and attacked her.

Thankfully, she kept punching it away with her ears, keeping it at bay. Still, seeing her in distress was all the motivation Pikachu needed. He ran faster, ready to help her out.

Another tentacle appeared. He jumped as it lunged for him, leaping over it and rolling back into a sprint upon landing. He was pretty close to the octillery when a shadow appeared beneath him. Tilting his head, he looked up, only to get startled when the tip of the tentacle he was running on came down towards him as the whole thing bent backwards.

Instinctively, he fired a Thunderbolt at it. The harsh impact of his electricity pushed it away. It went further in front of him, slamming down in a way that blocked his path.

Annoyed, he pressed his back to it and quickly began to sidle past it, careful not to slide off the edge. As he moved, he noticed the tentacle that had been antagonizing Buneary earlier was now weighed down by ice. The rabbit, however, was nowhere to be seen. Most likely because the head had swiveled around.

Having gotten past the annoying blockade, he got ready to run again. He stopped dead in his tracks as something clicked, however. The octillery's head had gone back to facing _him!_

Hearing the whirring noises start up again, he frowned and leapt off the tentacle he was on towards another. Seeing the head begin to swivel around to meet him, he leapt to another one, and then another one. He was about to leap again until he felt something tug on his tail. Looking around, he yelped as loads of cords wrapped around his body and pinned him to a tentacle. He struggled as hard as he could, but he was stuck fast.

His blood ran cold when the head faced him and he felt its vacuum tug on him. This was looking _bad._

The cords loosened, sending him helplessly slipping and tumbling on the wet tentacle towards the waiting snout.

" _[Hold on, I'm coming!]_ " a voice called out from the side.

He turned to look at who was talking before being suddenly rammed into from the side. He was knocked off the tentacle and into the water.

Quickly surfacing, he took a deep breath of air before groaning in pain. Owww… He was safe, thankfully, but his side stung like all heck. Looking over at the pokémon who had surfaced next to him, he smiled softly. "[Oh… er, thanks, Pip!]"

Spitting water out of his beak, the penguin smiled back. "[No problem! Always happy to save the day. Which I'm awesome at.]"

"[Yeah, of course,]" Pikachu replied before wincing. "[… Did you have to hit me so hard, though? I think you got me right in the… er, whatever this squishy part under my rib's called.]"

Piplup frowned. "[Hey, don't complain after I'm done saving you! Or I'll totally peck you in a _different_ squishy part!]"

Pikachu's face heated up, despite the cool water. "[W-What? Don't say embarrassing stuff like that!]"

The penguin rolled his eyes. "[Man, Aipom was right. You are _such_ a prude.]"

"[N-No, I'm…]" He shook his head. "[Ughh, now's not the time for this! We have to help Buneary and get rid of those _brainless_ idiots before they do any damage.]"

Piplup looked surprised. "['Brainless idiots'? Wow. Pretty harsh.]"

Pikachu faltered slightly. "[W-Well… y'know. They deserve it.]"

With a pause, the penguin shrugged. "[Er… if you say so.]" His eyes suddenly bulged and he shrieked. "[Oh flip, _watch out!_ ]" He dashed forwards, grabbed Pikachu and swam away.

Spluttering when water went in his mouth, he prepared to complain about being randomly manhandled. He was shut up by an almighty splash from behind, however.

Startled, he looked behind him to see a big tentacle rising from where they'd just been swimming. "[Oh, dear lord…]" he mumbled. "[Um, thanks again!]"

"[You're welcome!]" the penguin replied, slowing down and letting go of him. "[Now, stop leaving yourself open and grab onto my back!]"

"[O-Oh, right!]" Pikachu swam behind him and grabbed onto his shoulders. "[Lead the way!]" he yelled before taking in some air and holding it.

"[Gladly!]" Piplup dived under the water, with Pikachu in tow.

Clinging tightly, the mouse struggled to keep his eyes open as they were bombarded with water. The lake was clean, so it didn't sting too much, but the speed Piplup was going at wasn't helping matters. His sore tail was beginning to feel soothed by the cool sensation washing over it, though, so there was that.

After a while, something red above the water in front of them caught his attention. Despite his blurry vision, he could tell it was another tentacle. Thankfully, Piplup swerved out of the way as it tried to slam into them, and he swerved again when another did the same. In the distance, he could see even more of them, but he was sure the penguin had it covered.

Hearing activity from behind, Pikachu angled his head backwards and squinted. He yelped in surprise when he saw another tentacle rapidly approaching them from the back. Also noticing it, Piplup flipped around and shot away in the opposite direction. He rolled off to the side to dodge the attack at the last second. Seeing an opportunity, Pikachu solidified his tail and jammed it into the tentacle as they sailed along. Its rubbery skin was cut open, causing bits of wire and metal to spill out. It slowed somewhat, soon after.

Deactivating his tail, he pumped a fist in celebration. Piplup gave him a happy look before focusing back on his swimming. He went lower to avoid an attack that was set to sweep across the water.

After dodging several more tentacles while circling the mecha, Pikachu's lungs began to feel uncomfortable. With another four tentacle strikes, it was becoming slightly unbearable, so he rapidly tapped the back of Piplup's head.

After a while of patting him as hard as he could, the penguin's only response was making an irritated noise. Barely hearing him over the water passing by his own ears, Pikachu became confused and pat him even harder. Eventually, Piplup groaned even louder and slapped Pikachu's paw away.

Gripping the penguin's shoulder again, Pikachu's heart almost stopped. He just remembered! Being a water-type, Piplup was better at holding his breath, wasn't he? And being as self-absorbed as he was…

Panicking, Pikachu opened his mouth to yell at him to surface. He got a throat-full of water in response, making him cough out some more precious oxygen. Oh god, oh god… his lungs were going to frigging _implode_ at this rate!

When Piplup dived lower to avoid another tentacle strike, Pikachu considered letting go to swim to safety on his own. His arms were starting to feel so weak, though… and this lake was way deeper than it looked. Ughhh…

His grip slackened as his vision went blurrier. He really hoped he wasn't going to die because of Team Rocket. That would be so embarrassing…

Some huge red thing swept the water in front of them. Something bigger than a tentacle… maybe two or three of them in a row? Either way, Piplup was forced to rise higher, making Pikachu's lips curl into a hopeful smile. If the penguin wanted to dodge it, he would have to leap out of the water. Out into the cool, crisp air filled with precious oxygen. Then Pikachu could breathe...

They climbed higher and higher. Within seconds, they would be _so_ close. The mouse got ready to take in a huge gulp of air, his smile growing bigger and bigger. It was wiped off his face almost immediately as Piplup instead chose to dive lower again. What…!?

Forcing his eyes to widen, he saw bubbles shoot out of the penguin's beak, tearing a hole into one of the tentacles. They both swam through it as if it were a hoop before going deeper again. Damn it…

His vision went darker. Flashes of his life sped by his very eyes. He remembered being a young pichu, always playing with his family. He remembered growing up into a pikachu, trusting no one around him because of what had happened. He remembered the time he had met Ash, his best friend and partner for life. He remembered the time he'd been half-asleep and forgotten to cover himself up after using the facilities. Right before going back to sleep against Ash, too… which had led to the most mortifying morning of his life. Despite his dying energy, the memory made him shudder in embarrassment.

He heard a confused noise in front of him as his jitters died down. Then a shrill noise. His senses began to dull after that. His consciousness slipping away…

* * *

 **To be continued…**

* * *

 **Finished:** 18/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 4,304


	5. Surf's Up

**Chapter 5:** _Surf's Up_

* * *

 _Pikachu continued to float along. He didn't know if he was still awake, or how fast he was moving, or where he was going… or if he was even in the water anymore. All he knew was that he was floating._

 _He was vaguely aware of something in front of him, however. It was blue and spiky. It was talking to him… saying something comforting to him…_

 _He reached out towards it. He didn't know why… but he knew it would end well, somehow. He just had to believe in it._

 _Floating a little closer, he embraced it. Warmth washed over his cold body as soon as they made contact. His ears pricked when he heard its words trickle into them._

 _"[… Hey, don't get dea-… I mean, don't die, yet, alright? Agh, messed it up…]"_

* * *

Pikachu's eyes snapped open. He immediately noticed the lack of water around him. He was surrounded by _air._ Instinctively, he breathed in as deeply as his lungs would allow. Coughing and spluttering it back out, along with some water, he felt his senses fire back up again. It was almost like life had been breathed back into him. He was alive…

What the heck had he just witnessed, though? Had he been dreaming? But it felt so- _Ack! What the-!?_

His eyes snapped open, revealing Piplup, whose beak was wrapped around his mouth as he blew air into him. Cheeks going as warm as they could go, the mouse wondered if he should have stayed under the water. "[Oh, lord, Piplup!]" he exclaimed, pushing him away and sitting up. "[Th-The heck-!?]" He coughed harshly. Calming, he noticed that they were standing on the bank of the lake, hidden away in some reeds. Splashing noises could be heard in the distance, but they didn't sound like they were coming closer, so things seemed safe.

Taking a slow breath, the mouse began again. "[What're you _doing?_ D-Did you have to kiss me?]"

He expected Piplup to respond irritably. Instead, however, he tackled Pikachu into a hug. "[Oh, legends, I'm _so_ _sorry!_ ]" he wailed, sounding surprisingly distressed. "[I'm so stupid, I forgot that you can't breathe underwater as well as me! And I should have flipping realized when it you were tapping me, but I just got annoyed instead! And then you were shaking weirdly, and then I looked over, and your face was frigging _purple! I'm such a frigging idiot!_ ]"

Pikachu blinked. Oh, jeez… Was this… _actually_ Piplup? Like, the real one? In the few weeks that Pikachu had known him, he'd shown off the absolute _biggest_ ego out of everybody the mouse had ever known. Yet here the penguin was, crying and calling himself dumb.

Pikachu awkwardly made a move to hug him back. "[Er… th-there there, Piplup. It wasn't all that-]" he started, cut off when Piplup's hugs grew stronger.

"[What kind of pokémon can I call myself!?]" Piplup exclaimed somewhat melodramatically.

"[It's… fine…]" Pikachu wheezed, wondering if he was going to suffocate instead of drowning. "[Besides… you saved me… so thanks… pal…!]"

Piplup stopped squeezing as tightly. "[P… Pal?]" he asked, surprised.

Pikachu inhaled deeply. Satisfied, he smiled slightly. "[Y-Yeah. Thanks to you, I'm not a member of Team Rocket. And you _did_ save me before I drowned to death. 'Specially with the… um, th-the CPR, and stuff. So yeah, you did great, pal! Thanks so much!]"

The penguin continued to stare at him, almost as if in wonderment. Before Pikachu could ask if he was okay, he put his flippers to his hips. Beak held high and proud. "[Yes, well… of course I did! And you're welcome, and stuff!]" he replied, "[… p-pal.]"

With a relieved sigh, Pikachu's smile grew. "[Y-Yeah.]" He shakily got to his feet. "[Anyway, we've still gotta save Buneary, so let's go!]"

"[Oh, of course!]" Piplup replied. An unsure look came over him. "[Er… I dunno how, though. Because of me, we're perfectly safe underwater, but above water, we're not so-…]" He paused and awkwardly looked off to the side. "[Er… we're perfectly safe from the _tentacles,_ I mean. And from drowning! Because I wouldn't let that happen again!]"

Huffing amusedly, Pikachu shrugged. "[Yeah, of course, of course.]"

"[Either way, we can't just go milling about underwater all day! All we'll accomplish is wasting precious time. And no way we'll be good or lucky enough to break _all_ those tentacles…]"

"[Yeah…]" Pikachu responded, tapping his foot. "[Hmm. Y'know, I guess I do have _one_ idea.]"

"[Oh yeah?]"

Pikachu nodded. "[It'll be hard… but hey, let's go above water!]"

Piplup's eyes widened. "[W-What!? Are you _crazy?_ I'm the best swimmer I know, but that's only _underwater!_ Above water, they'll swat us away like bugs! _Actual_ bugs.]"

Sighing, Pikachu shook his head. If nothing else, at least Piplup wasn't unrealistic about things, despite his… inconsistent ego. "[Sure, with that kind of attitude! No way, I've got an idea…]"

Piplup sighed himself. "[And what's that?]"

"[Well, y'see, if you lay down over there, I can ride you!]"

The penguin jumped backwards in shock. "[ _W-Whaaat!?_ ]"

"[What? It'll be pretty rough, but if we're quick enough, it'll all be-]"

"[I-I'm gonna have to stop you there,]" Piplup replied, frantically waving his flippers. "[I know I gave you the kiss of life, and all, but this is all _way_ too sudden! Besides, what would Buneary think?]"

Pikachu tilted his head. "[The heck do you-?]"

"Hey, where did that piplup go with our prize catch!?" the male grunt exclaimed all of a sudden, cutting him off. "They've been down there long enough to grow gills!"

"What're they hoping to do? Become deep sea divers!?" the female grunt added.

"Well, keep splashin' around! We'll get to plunder our booty soon," the meowth continued. "Let's go, Radical, Armed, Pokémon-Inges-" He suddenly started making pained noises, as if he were being slapped repeatedly.

"I'll plunder _your_ booty if you mention that name _one_ last time!" the female grunt screamed.

The splashing noises grew noisier quickly afterwards, as well as the meowth's complaints.

Pikachu jolted. "[Ah, no time, Piplup!]" He pointed towards the water. "[C'mon, I'm not too heavy, I promise! It'll be easy sailing!]"

The penguin blinked. Afterwards, he made an 'O' shape with his beak. "[Ahh, right, I get you. I think.]" He frowned while moving over to the lake's edge. "[For crying out loud, Pikachu, you could've phrased that _way_ better! If that aipom heard you just then, she'd be rolling on the floor, laughing!]"

Pikachu's face went warm. "[W-What? Why?]"

Piplup waved him off. "[Doesn't matter. Anyway, let's get going! I don't want your love life to collapse because of those goons!]" he said, laying down on the water.

Pikachu's face went warmer still. "[B-But…]" He just sighed, shrugged and ran over to the penguin. Maybe he was over-exaggerating, or something. "[Alright, whatever, let's go, Pip!]" he yelled, hopping onto his back and holding a steady stance.

Nodding, the water-type slowly accelerated away.

"[… Er… and just so ya know,]" Pikachu continued, something coming to mind, "[it's best to stop using the breath of life when the guy you're saving's awake. Or else things get… weird. I mean, thanks, but-]" A bubble suddenly flew into his face and popped, spraying him with water.

"[Ugh! So ungrateful!]" the penguin complained. "[Next time, I'll just wait until the flipping funeral!]"

"[S-Sorry…]" Pikachu sighed, wiping the water from his face. He couldn't stop a small grin from forming, though. Now _that_ was more like the response he'd been expecting, earlier…

Once Piplup reached full speed, Pikachu changed his stance to ride on top of him like he was a surfboard. He was a little shaky, at first, but he soon found his bearings, using the skills his old friend Puka had taught him years ago.

As they entered the scene, Team Rocket excitedly shouted some stupid stuff from within their giant octillery tank. However, not wanting a headache to go along with his earlier near-death experience, Pikachu opted to ignore them.

Once close enough, Piplup began to go around the mecha in a circle. One of their stupid red tentacles lashed out at them again.

The penguin leaped high into the air, sailing directly above it before diving back down. Though he wobbled slightly, Pikachu stayed firm, even as they splashed into the water and sped off again. This happened several more times, with their constant tentacle attacks being completely avoided with leaps that would put dolphins to shame.

Eventually, the grunts slammed a tentacle down right in front of them, far too close for Piplup to jump over.

Yelling "[ _Quick Attack!_ ]" Pikachu jumped off Piplup's back and sailed through the air. Going over the tentacle with a flip, he landed back onto the penguin, who was still wet from resurfacing.

"[Man, you really like saying your move names out loud, huh?]" Piplup said, as they got steady again.

"[Yeah! It adds oomph to what I'm doing, y'know?]" Pikachu responded.

"[Well… alright. Whatever works, I guess. Adds more oomph to Aipom's laughing whenever you battle, if nothing else.]"

Pikachu's surfing stance faltered. "[W-What? She _still_ laughs at it? _Really?_ ]"

"[W-Well, only a little!]" Piplup responded, wobbling slightly at the change in stance. "[I think it's pretty neat. And if _I_ think something's neat, then it must be!]"

Exhaling, Pikachu smiled lightly. "[Oh, well, thanks.]"

"[… I mean, it _is_ pretty weird, too, but it's still neat!]"

Pikachu's smile dissolved into a slight frown. "[Ugh. So close, yet so far…]" He looked off to the side. Now he knew how his dad had felt with Sandslash…

While he turned his gaze away, he saw something that made his eyes widen. On top of the octillery mecha, there was something brown and cream colored. Just like Buneary! It must've been her, no doubt! Thankfully, the grunts seemed to be ignoring her, as if they'd forgotten she existed. She was safe for the moment, it seemed.

After Piplup dodged around another tentacle, the mouse pointed Buneary's location out to him.

The penguin gasped. "[ _What?_ Why's she up _there?_ ]"

"[It's either up there or the water, I guess,]" Pikachu responded. "[But whatever, let's go in closer! If we get over there, we can get up to the cockpit and beat them up, or something.]"

"[… I don't like the way you used that 'or something', but alright,]" Piplup muttered, going closer to the mecha.

The tentacle attacks continued, with the duo leaping over or swerving around each one. Pikachu ducked as one flew overhead at one point, clearly an attempt to catch him off-guard.

"[So, what're doing when we get close enough?]" Piplup asked after another tentacle dodge.

"[See how it's all sloped at the base?]" Pikachu called back. "[We're gonna use our momentum to slide all the way up to the head! Then…]" He paused before smiling sheepishly. "[… Something, something, progress! I dunno.]"

"[… If we get captured because of this, I'm gonna get _so_ mad, Pikachu!]" Piplup angrily responded. Regardless, he considerably sped up, shooting straight towards the mecha.

Pikachu prepared himself for their stunt. He yelped as two tentacles suddenly slammed down in their path, forming a very tall wall. If they didn't stop, they'd hit it in a few seconds.

"[Ugh, dang it!]" Piplup exclaimed, slowing slightly. "[Screw it, I'm gonna dive!]" He started bobbing on the water as if getting ready to do so.

A feeling of dread pricked at Pikachu's heart. "[Er… n-not for too long, though, right?]"

"[… No,]" the penguin mumbled quietly.

Sighing, Pikachu held his breath and leaned down, gripping Piplup's shoulder. At that, the penguin dove under the water.

Pikachu couldn't help but shiver slightly, though not just because of the cold water. After his near-death experience from earlier, he wondered if he could ever take a bath again.

They quickly passed under the tentacles and went towards the surface again. Once they broke the water, Piplup leaped high into the air as Pikachu wiped water from his eyes. They went higher and higher and _higher_ still, with no signs of stopping. Had they hit the mecha's base already? That didn't seem right.

Fear hit the mouse in the gut when he noticed the incredible winds that were drawing them towards the mecha. Oh no. Straining to keep his balance on top of Piplup, he flicked water away from his eyes so he could see properly. To his horror, they were surfing down the suction of the vacuum!

Careening towards it, they both screamed. They were close enough for Pikachu to see the cage set up inside the snout, sending a jolt of fear up his spine. However, a bright flash of blue appeared in front of him, which turned into an icy slope.

Hitting it at full speed, the duo slid upwards out of the suction and eventually high above the mecha, overshooting it completely.

Ignoring his friend's screams, Pikachu forcefully fired some electricity over Piplup's head, shooting himself backwards. Unfortunately, the penguin didn't stop and just continued onwards.

"[ _Dang it, Pikachuuuuuu…!_ ]" he yelled, launching away into the distance, far, far away from the mecha.

Falling backwards towards its head, Pikachu's face warmed significantly. Whoops. Maybe Buneary's habit of planning things badly was already rubbing off on him…

Still high in the air, he twisted himself around to land on his four feet. He yelped as some furry paws wrapped around his belly out of nowhere. Looking to the side, he saw Buneary, who seemed quite relieved to see him.

"[You okay, Pikachu?]" she asked, falling back towards the mecha's head.

"[Yeah… more or less,]" he responded. "[Thanks for the save, back there. I was getting worried…]"

"[No problem!]" she chimed, landing soon after.

He jumped out of her grip and got to his feet. Annoyingly, Team Rocket were complaining loudly while slowly rotating the octillery's head around to find them. They didn't seem to understand that he was right above them, so he took the time to rest.

"[Er… will Piplup be okay?]" Buneary asked, worriedly glancing over.

Squinting in the same direction, he could barely make out a splash in the distance. The mouse grimaced awkwardly at the sight. "[Um… he'll be fine.]" He faced her again. "[Are you okay, though? You disappeared on us for a while.]"

"[Oh, don't worry, I was fine and dandy!]" she responded, smiling. "[When I smacked against this thing, I didn't have anywhere better to go but up, so… up I went!]"

"[Heh. Figured as much.]"

Her head tilted. "[Speaking of disappearing, you and Piplup were nowhere to be seen yourselves! I thought you left to get help.]"

He shook his head. "[Would've taken too long. We're pretty far from camp… and, knowing Ash, I'll bet he's still eating. It's _especially_ hard to get him going anywhere when it's food time.]"

Her eyes widened. "[Really? He'd give up on us for _food?_ ]"

He rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, I was just kidding. He'd never give up on a chance to help out. His favorite song is 'I Wanna Be A Hero' for a reason…]"

With a face of understanding, she chuckled. "[Oh, right.]"

"[But yeah, sorry. Me and Piplup were preoccupied with an… underwater incident.]"

"[Huh? What happened?]" she asked in concern.

"[Er… I'll tell ya later.]" He frowned determinedly. "[Right now, let's get rid of this thing before it completely ruins the lake!]"

She gasped. "[O-Oh, yeah, of course!]" She grinned excitedly. "[Ooh, y'know, I was just about to put a plan into action until I saw you doing all that awesome surfing and jumping.]" She blinked before a look of adoration came over her. "[Which was freaking _gorgeous_ to watch, by the way, you natural~!]"

Pikachu smiled awkwardly. "[Er, th-thanks. Um… what was the plan?]" A question he was slightly worried to hear the answer to.

Collecting herself, she smirked. "[Here, lemmie show ya!]" She jumped high into the air as small gusts of wind enveloped her feet. At the peak of her jump, she fired her Ice Beam straight downwards, freezing part of the head. Yelling a battle cry, she came straight back down, smashing her way through It like it were glass.

Hearing the screams of the grunts below, Pikachu sighed. Well, that was _one_ way of doing it…

Shrugging to himself, he followed her into the hole.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 18/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 2,722

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** I'll bet you missed these little dumb authors notes, didn't ya? Well, I'm trying something new this time! Whenever the mood gets really somber or serious or whatever, I might cut the author's notes short. Just to make sure I don't ruin the mood too much. Consider it a 'Serious mode', just like in that really obscure and unknown indie game that you've probably never heard about. What was it called again? Undertale, or something, right? … Yeah, I know. My little reference was perhaps a little _too_ underground, this time. No pun intended.

Regardless, long comment short, if the mood gets too serious, expect my usual pointless notes next chapter or so! This goes for the other fics, too, like Spiritual Successor and whatnot. Hopefully you don't find this too pretentious! If so, lemmie know!

… Y'know, speaking of Undertale, I sometimes play Tomodachi Life, and I made a Papyrus mii. He's married to my Bayonetta mii and they just made the most hideous baby alive. I wanna see a fanfiction on this just once in my life.

Fun fact: Bounce actually has no special visual effects in the anime. So, technically speaking, Buneary might have actually never used Bounce once in her life as far as we know. Maybe she's just very heavy! For this fic, however, I'm-a gonna fudge things and say she has windy feet whenever that happens.

 **Shameless promotion:** Today's pick for a fic is **Lost in the Forest** by **awesomebrenguy.**

It features Pikachu and Buneary, who are (surprise, surprise) lost inside a forest. However, they're not the only ones inside these woods. They're also surrounded by a malicious force of robots, who wish to bring about death and destruction, like they're sentinels from X-Men, or something.

It's pretty fun, and the action's very neat! And if you like OCs, then it's got you covered, with one who's quite cool, but not too overpowered. I think you'll like it quite a bit! :D

 **Fun mistakes of yesterday (chapter 4) #1: '** He managed to cling onto one just in time to become airborne.'

(The way I worded it makes it sound as if, by grabbing the cord, he's now gained the power of flight.)

 **#2:** 'Deciding to hop, she squeaked to hop for speed.'

(Squeaking equals hopping, which then equals stimulant drugs. Simple maths!)

 **#3:** 'Pikachu rolled onto his back as he was dragged along, along with Buneary **, who was Pikachu** '

(They've morphed into one entity! That must be true love, right?)

 **#4:** 'Hearing the whirring noises start up again, he frowned and leapt off the tentacle **he was one'**

(He became a tentacle! Watch out, Buneary!)

 **Fun mistakes of the day (chapter 5) #1: '** _His ears pricked when he heard its words trickle into his **mouth.** '_

 _(I wonder how it tasted.)_

 **#2:** 'We have to help Buneary and get rid of those **_branless_** idiots before they do any damage.'

(They have an absence of cereal. No wonder they're always so cranky!)

 **#3:** He saw something brown and cream colored on top of the octillery mecha. **I** **was Buneary,** no doubt!

(Ahahaha!)

 **#4:** "[Alright, let's go,]" he said holding his breath.

(Apparently he's saying this while holding his breath. On top of that, without the comma, it looks like he then randomly said 'holding his breath'.)

 **#5:** 'Had they **hid** the mecha's base already? That didn't seem right.'

(No kidding. How did they hide something so humongous? Either way, it's time for the annoyingly wobbly Rocket scream of distress!)

Ah well. Tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _They didn't surrender, so it's time to fight!_


	6. Health Hazard

**Chapter 6:** _Health Hazard_

* * *

Landing inside the center of the mecha's head, Pikachu glanced around at the surroundings. Much like the three Team Rocket grunts, the inside of the mecha's head was surprisingly spacious. There was easily enough room to use it as a battlefield.

He took on a battle stance as he eyed up the goons in their seats, next to the windshield. They were scrambling around, panicking at the sight of the duo.

"I thought we were catching harmless remoraids, not vicious sharpedos!" the male grunt exclaimed.

"And they were supposed to get on the line, not into the boat!" the female grunt continued.

After a pause, the meowth frowned and pointed at Pikachu and Buneary. "Quit clownin' around, you two! Dey're right here, so let's just net 'em ourselves!"

The two grunts blinked at each other for a second. Grabbing some pokéballs and jumping out their seats, they ran into position and frowned, turning their attention back to Pikachu and Buneary.

"In that case, let's skip straight to the filleting!" one of the grunts yelled, throwing their pokéballs. Pikachu didn't listen, or care enough to decide which. Honestly, it was a shame they'd run away to the other end of the room, because it was tempting to just zap them, now.

Their seviper, dustox, cacnea and carnivine materialized in front of them. The latter two doing their thing of grabbing and biting the male grunt's arm and head, respectively.

"[Man, Fortune would _hate_ those guys with jokes like that…]" Buneary groaned, taking her own battle stance while eyeing them up.

Pikachu raised an eyebrow. Shaking his thoughts away, he charged up some electricity while the grunts yelled some orders. "[Alright, you take on the grass-types and I'll take on these two,]" he said, nodding towards the two poison-types.

"[Gotcha,]" she replied, hopping on the spot with a frown.

Their seviper lunged at him and slashed with his poisoned tail. Jumping over it and yelling his move, Pikachu spun around and smacked him with his solidified tail. Landing, he twisted around to parry the seviper's second tail strike with his own. While the snake was thrown off balance, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt at him, shocking him with enough force to knock him into the cockpit's wall.

The mouse grinned slightly in celebration. He cried out in pain, however, when needles pelted his back, knocking him onto his front. Reaching behind and pulling them out, he winced at the sting it caused. As well as the stinging that persisted afterwards. Gritting his teeth, he threw them to the side. Freaking poison…

Hearing the female grunt's next command, he rolled to the side, barely dodging more poison needles. Standing up to face his adversary, their dustox, he suddenly felt slightly woozy. He tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling, but he was finding it difficult. He was so thankful he hadn't been born a fairy-type…

He shot a weak Thunderbolt at the moth, forcing her to evasively fly backwards a fair distance. Hearing some grunting from Buneary, he used the pause in action to glance at her situation. She was currently wrapped up in their carnivine's vines, being squeezed painfully. At the same time, she was using her ears to defend herself against their cacnea's Pin Missile, which she Dizzy Punched away.

Pikachu wanted to help her, but an oncoming orange cloud of Stun Spore dust forced him to focus on his own battle. Holding his breath and using Quick Attack, he dashed through it. Leaping forwards, he spun around and swiped at the moth with his tail, barely missing her.

Landing, he suddenly felt immensely lightheaded and queasy. Taking several deep breaths and swallowing hard, he stayed focused. A multicolored beam of energy suddenly caught him off guard, however, smashing into his side and flinging him across the room.

Rolling to a stop, he groaned while trying to keep his breakfast down. Picking himself up, he charged up a Thunderbolt. An act hindered by the poison coursing through his veins. He didn't make much progress before their dustox advanced on him with glowing eyes.

Instead of dodging, he fired off a generic bolt of lightning. Struck in the stomach, she was knocked out of the air with a shriek. While she scrambled to get up again, he solidified his tail. Inhaling deeply, he jumped upwards and went careening down towards her.

He was inches from her face when he suddenly stopped in midair, pain erupting around his waist. Crying in agony, he was lifted away and shaken rapidly, their seviper's jaws clamped shut around him.

Everything became a rapid blur of colors, worsening his nausea. He shut his eyes, but he couldn't stop the constant motion. It made his stomach churn, especially once something began to stir. It travelled up his throat, leaving a nasty burning sensation in its wake. He clenched his mouth shut, but he couldn't stop it from forcing its way out.

Their seviper stopped shaking him and looked down. He let loose a shriek and flung Pikachu away. "[ _Ewww!_ What the heck, man!?]" he yelled, sounding offended.

Landing against the wall on his paws, Pikachu crashed to the ground. He groaned, face rapidly heating up. Why him…?

The rocket grunts squealed.

"I tought we wanted a _pika_ chu, not a _pukea_ chu!" their meowth yelled.

Their seviper began to squirm around in disgust, rubbing his body across the floor. Their dustox just watched him sympathetically.

"Seviper, stop! You're getting it all over our nice, clean robot!" the male grunt screamed.

"I think _I'm_ going to turn into a pukeachu if this keeps up…" the female grunt said, looking quite green.

Trying, and failing, to ignore the horrible taste in his mouth, Pikachu pushed himself up. He was too weak, so he just fell back down again. It was no use. The poison, and his very upset stomach, were taking their toll on him. Still, he didn't want to be a member of Team Rocket again, so he had to move. He just had to.

Straining to his fours, he looked over at Buneary. He saw their carnivine frozen to the floor, struggling to break free from the ice. The rabbit herself was trading constant punches with their cacnea, blocking many and shrugging off others as the cactus did the same.

Flying over the carnage, their dustox drew closer to Pikachu again. He charged up electricity while straining to his feet, but like before, he was struggling. His mind scrambled for an idea when he saw the dustox's eyes glow again.

Noticing how close to the ceiling she was, he remembered a technique his dad had once showed off with. He turned towards the wall and fired off a weak bolt of electricity while yelling "[Thunder Jolt!]" His electricity bounced towards the wall in big arcs and travelled straight up it. It continued until it went across the ceiling, striking the dustox and cancelling her attack just in time. She fell to the floor afterwards.

He expected the grunts to squeal. Angling his ears, however, he heard them getting excited about something, instead.

"But… can a pikachu even learn Gastro Acid?" the male grunt asked.

"… You know, I'm not actually sure…" the female grunt replied. Suddenly, her voice shifted back to excited. "But that's all the more reason to capture it!"

"Yeah!" their meowth agreed. "Especially if it can't loin it normally! Dat'd be like _me_ loinin' Soif!"

Oh no… now they thought Pikachu had an extra hidden move. They weren't far off the mark, he supposed, but he really wished it wasn't a freaking puking move they thought he had…

"Oh, just tink…" their meowth continued, "if we brought it to de bawss…" He went off into some dreamy rambles about their 'boss', or whatever. The other two listened intently, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. He smiled soon after, though. Perfect, they were distracted! With the two poison-types incapacitated, too, he had time to find a way to cure himself. Or at least recover slightly.

He saw a couple of bags in the distance, next to the mecha's controls. He slowly hobbled towards them, making sure to stay quiet. He severely hoped they had an antidote in there, or at least a breath mint.

He was about halfway there when he heard a battle cry from behind. Glancing backwards, he saw something coming towards him. Yelping, he dodged to the side. Their cacnea shot past him like a missile, a dazed expression on his face.

"[How's _that,_ jerk?]" Buneary shouted from nearby. "[Never mess with someone who can bust a _boulder!_ ]"

Pikachu turned to face her and smiled. "[Hey… g-good job…]" he said, sounding as shaky as he felt.

He saw her grinning cockily, almost looking as hot-blooded as Ash often got. Her face fell into worry while looking the mouse over. "[Oh, man, are you okay? You look like death!]"

He exhaled slowly. "[I _feel_ like death. That dustox… poisoned me something fierce…]"

She gasped, paws against her mouth. "[Ah! That's awful!]"

"[It's okay… I just need… something from their bags that can help me…]" he replied, pointing towards them. "[Preferably without… getting anyone's attention.]"

She nodded, frowning determinedly. "[Okay, gotcha!]" She moved over and picked him up bridal style.

"[Gah! W-What're you doing?]" he asked, face warming.

"[Here we go!]" she said, not listening. With a firm grip on him, she began moving towards the bags in short hops.

Huffing quietly, he just allowed it. It wasn't like anyone was watching, anyway. Everyone was either dazed, preoccupied with being dumb or, in their seviper's case, cleaning themselves off. Everything said, a part of him was happy to see the rabbit's strength in action again. He admired strong pokémon. Though perhaps not to a romantic extent, unlike what Piplup would believe.

Speaking of which, just where _was_ that penguin? He hadn't landed _that_ far out in the lake, had he? Poor guy…

He didn't have long to ponder the issue before Buneary landed next to the bags and let him down. After thanking her, he got to work on searching through one bag, while she worked on the other.

Angling his ears, he heard the rocket grunts _still_ fantasizing about their boss. He even heard their meowth imitating their boss. Unable to see them because of the big seats, he could only imagine the looks on their faces. It sounded like they were almost done rambling, however, so he stopped listening and sped up his search.

He found bottle caps, a spare uniform, a packet of mints… Nothing interesting, though he was happy to eat one of the mints. He didn't think it was right to steal food, but whatever. They'd probably stolen it themselves.

He smiled as the minty taste washed away the nastiness in his mouth. Hearing the grunts start to figure out that he and Buneary were missing, however, wiped the smile right off his face. Thankfully, they were hidden away, but that would change soon enough.

"[Any luck?]" he whispered to Buneary.

She shook her head. "[Nope. Nothing but cases in here.]"

He raised an eyebrow. "[Cases?]"

"[Yeah.]" She gestured towards one. "[There's this empty ribbon case,]" She pointed to the other, "[and here's a poffin one.]"

He frowned. "[Ugh. I'll bet they stole them…]" He tilted his head. "[Wait, what's a poffin?]"

"[Oh, they're these absolutely _tasty_ treats made from various berries. I used to, um, raid picnics for them. Ahaha…]"

He rolled his eyes. Why were wild pokémon so obsessed with stealing food? Before he could chastise her, something she'd said made his eyes widen. "[Wait… berries? Like pecha berries?]"

She cocked her head. "[Huh? Well, yeah, I guess so.]"

He beamed. "[Oh, sweet! When you put it that way…]" He opened the poffin case and took out several of the colorful pastries. He shoved them into his mouth, chewing and swallowing. He couldn't stop a noise of delight escaping his lips at the sweet taste and the doughy texture of them. He wished he could take time to savor it all.

"Aha! Dere dey are!" their meowth yelled, peeking from around one of the nearby seats.

Surprised, Buneary yelped and instinctively punched the cat in the face with an ear, sending him flying backwards with a yell.

Out of time, Pikachu swallowed forcefully. He expected an immediate effect, like when eating a regular pecha berry, but he still felt woozy. Had it not worked?

Their meowth quickly returned, tenderly rubbing his eye. "Oh, so it's gonna be like _dat,_ is it, toots?"

Recovering from the shock, she frowned up at him. "[ _Toots?_ You jerk!]" she responded angrily. She pumped her ears, as if getting ready to punch him again.

The cat produced some claws and slowly advanced. A sight that would have been intimidating if it were anyone else on the planet.

With a cry, they both pounced and immediately collapsed in shock when the female grunt screeched inhumanely.

"Pikachu, you little thief!" she screamed, pointing at him from across the room. "I stole those tiny colorful cakes fair and square!"

Pikachu huffed and gave an appropriate response. Afterwards, he turned around and ran away from the cockpit on his twos with a handful of pink poffins, Buneary hopping closely behind.

"What did that little pastry pilferer have to say for itself?" the female grunt continued.

"It said 'who cares, get stuffed, you old witch,'" their meowth replied, sounding sheepish.

Hearing a noise similar to what a volcano would make in response, Pikachu ran faster while cringing. Right as he was, maybe he should have held his tongue.

"[Man, that was _so_ sassy, just then!]" Buneary replied from next to him, sounding amused.

Taking a deep breath, he chuckled awkwardly. "[That's what happens when you… hang around Misty for years on end,]" he replied.

"[Misty?]"

Hearing the female grunt's heavy footsteps behind him, he shook his head. "[An old friend. I'll tell you later.]" Still moving, he began to wolf down some poffins. Though there was no effect at first, he began to feel his stamina slowly return, a little bit of fatigue washing away with each bite.

Dodging a shoe and some bottle caps that the female grunt had thrown at him, he gulped down one last poffin. It was like a breath of fresh air had gone through his very soul, washing away his illness. He was about to celebrate when a big, black cloud of smoke approached them from the side. He gave it a confused look until he heard various battle cries from within.

He gasped and yelled at Buneary to run. Activating Quick Attack, he zipped forwards, dodging the storm of poisonous needles, cactus pins and seeds that suddenly shot out of the Haze cloud. He kept zipping forward in a zigzag pattern, avoiding projectile after projectile. Buneary was using Bounce to rapidly jump between the floor and ceiling, barely dodging shots while moving forward.

He saw a stream of his favorite poisonous needles pelting the wall ahead of him. Gaining more speed, he jumped to the wall and ran across it, racing over the attack. Looking upwards, he yelled "[ _Thunderbolt!_ ]" and fired electricity at them in retaliation. It hit the smoke cloud, but he didn't hear any screams, so he must've missed. Attempting another attack didn't work, either. Drat, they were surprisingly smart when they weren't being directly ordered around by Team Rocket.

Buneary shot an Ice Beam at them, too, but only succeeded in hitting the floor. She groaned disappointedly at first, but she gasped excitedly and then kept firing her beam afterwards. Because she kept jumping around, her aim was all over the place.

Pikachu wondered if she was just leaving luck to heaven and firing recklessly. His eyes widened as he noticed the floor under the cloud freeze up, however. Was she doing that on purpose? In any case, the attacks of the small gang started to go all over the place before stopping altogether.

Pikachu jumped off the wall and stood still, catching his breath. Buneary jumped off the ceiling and landed next to him. Beaming, she posed in a girly manner. "[Ahaha, woohoo! I knew freezing the floor would work out!]" she chimed.

Pikachu smiled along with her. "[Yeah, way to go!]" he praised. He paused as the cloud of smoke dispersed. His eyes went very wide when he saw all the enemy pokémon were still okay, sans their seviper, who was frozen solid. They all had their attacks armed and ready.

"[Oh, _what?_ ]" Buneary yelled. She blinked. "[… Oh, wait, most of them can fly.]" She blinked again. "[… And Cacnea has spiky feet.]"

Pikachu sighed. "[Well… at least you got the sevipe-]"

The snake suddenly jumped out of the top of his ice prison, leaving some snake skin behind inside it. He landed in a coiled position and brought back the cloud of smoke.

The duo both stared in disbelief.

"[… _Damn it,_ ]" Buneary mumbled.

A hail of projectiles burst out of the cloud, all aimed at him and Buneary. Yelping, Pikachu fired electricity at the onslaught, keeping it away. It pushed back against him, making him strain. Next to him, Buneary was doing her best to punch away the constant attacks with her ears. She sounded like she was struggling just as much.

After several seconds, fatigue began to creep in, weakening his electricity. He could see sweat begin to cover Buneary's face as her punches slowed slightly. Things weren't looking good. However, he heard something from behind the attacking pokémon. It sounded like the angry ramblings of the female grunt as she stomped closer, the other two goons behind her.

"Alright, where is it!?" the female jerk exclaimed, getting closer. "I'll show that twerp's little twerp how to talk to a lady-" She started screaming along with the other grunts, which was followed with a loud _crash_. The attacks from the enemy pokémon all immediately ceased.

Panting, he let his electricity peter out. At the same time, Buneary, whose head was still in a bowed punching position, collapsed onto her front with a yelp.

"[The heck…?]" she groaned, picking herself up. "[Why'd they stop?]"

The smoke slowly cleared away again, revealing that the grunts were splayed out across the floor. They were laying on top of their pokémon, who looked really dazed. Pikachu and Buneary laughed at the sight.

"[I guess I _did_ do good, after all!]" she chimed.

He nodded. "[Yup!]" Cheeks sparking, he grinned. "[Now, let's finish this, Bun!]"

"[Heck yeah!]" she replied, charging her Ice Beam.

With a battle cry, they fired everything they had at Team Rocket. Their colorful bolts of energy wrapped around each other before smashing into the team, exploding into a pretty array of yellow and blue colors. With lots of screaming, the grunts were sent flying through the hole in the ceiling, charred and frozen. Several beats later, they yelled their usual " _We're blasting off agaaaaaain_ " line as they went into low orbit.

Cutting off their attack, the two friends stood there, panting. After a short while, they both smiled brightly.

"[We did it~!]" Buneary sang, bringing her paws to her cheeks in joy.

"[Yeah! Great work!]" Pikachu chimed, jumping for joy.

"[Ahaha, you too!]" she replied, hugging him. "[You were so amaziiiiing~!]"

He chuckled awkwardly, face feeling warmer. "[Um, thanks!]"

She hugged harder in response while giggling. Despite the awkwardness, Pikachu couldn't stop his own smile from growing bigger. After a victory like that, they deserved all the celebrations they could get.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 18/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 3,253

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Y'know, ravengal hijacked my computer and wrote some Team Rocket dialogue for slips and giggles (specifically, the section where Meowth talks about 'getting Gastro Acid's like me learning Soif' and Jessie's line before that. Joke's on her, though, because I'm keeping it (with permission)! Hahaha!

Y'know, if any of my action scenes don't make sense, please feel free to lemmie know. I'm always aiming to improve! That said, remember that the anime constantly has BS physics behind it. Remember that contest battle where a mismagius used Psywave on a leafeon, to give it functional wings? Or those times Ash leapt forwards or upwards several feet forwards/upwards, putting Buneary's jumps to shame? Yeah, This show is weird, with its physics, man. It's like someone turned on a cheat device before playing, or something…

 **Shameless promotion:** Yo, if you guys like Oshawott x Snivy, I think you might enjoy something called **Critical Condition** by **MewLover54!** It's got a heck of a lot of shellpwnageshipping, as well as other things! It even has lemons at the end, if you're into that! Though they're not plot important, so don't worry if you'd rather skip 'em.

It's cute, amusing and quite dramatic at the end! I dunno why he chose Trip instead of someone more deserving, like Paul, to be the… thing at the end, but hey, whatever works! It was certainly an entertaining scene, all the same.

 **Fun mistakes of the day #1:** 'Needled pelted Pikachu's back, knocking him to hisPikachu cried out in pain prickly attack pelted his back, knocking him onto his front.'

(Haha, bloody hell fire… I tried fixing the sentence and then made dreams come true. Fever dreams.)

 **#2:** 'Pikachu wanted to help her, **but he a cloud** '

(The battle was so intense that he turned into water vapors! Or maybe he's just an edgelord with a giant-ass sword, instead.)

 **#3:** 'She scrambled to **het** up'

(Considering she buggered off with a shiny to get laid, this isn't far from the truth for Dustox)

 **#4: '** He saw some **vags** in the distance.'

(Naughty Pikachu. I wonder if Buneary will mind…)

 **#5: '** It sounded like the angry ramblings of the female **grunty.** '

(Crossover with Banjo-Kazooie confirmed!)

Alright, enjoy the next chappie, you guys! And tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Destroying the robot!_


	7. Ripple Effect

**Chapter 7:** _Ripple Effect_

* * *

After celebrating for another minute or so, Pikachu and Buneary slowly strolled closer to the cockpit.

"[Man, that was _crazy_ ,]" Buneary said, holding her shoulder and spinning her arm around in some kind of stretch. "[It was pretty fun, though.]"

Pikachu gave her an odd look. "[Fun? Really? I haven't been this stressed since me and Ash first came to Sinnoh, and those jerks attacked when we were defenseless.]"

"[Stressful? Aww, that's no way of looking at it.]" She balled her paw. "[You have to think of it like a fun workout!]"

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "[Heh… well, fair point, I guess. I won't lie that I have fun fighting 'em off, sometimes.]" He massaged a sore spot on his rib. "[I just wish it came without all the danger.]"

"[Danger? No way!]" She put her paws to her hips. "[They were no match for us! Especially _you!_ ]"

His smile went exasperated. "[Well… we were almost captured, like, three times. And I almost drowned, once.]"

She rubbed her head sheepishly. "[Ahah, well…]" Her eyes widened in horror. "[W-Wait, what drowning!? _Seriously!?_ ]"

He waved his paws dismissively. "[H-Hey, don't worry about it. I, er… just stayed under the water for a little too long. Piplup saved me, though.]"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "[Oh, well, thank goodness for that…]" She gave him a slightly stern look. "[Hey, watch out next time, okay?]"

"[Yeah, I will, don't worry.]"

"[Alright, cool.]" She grinned at him. "[There's a serious shortage of cuties in the world…]" She winked playfully. "[… so don't take yourself out of the competition~]"

Some sweat went down the side of his head. "[Er… I'll try.]"

Seeing his expression, she began to fiddle with her fluff. "[Ahah, um… just sayin',]" she continued awkwardly.

"[Heh, yeah,]" he replied, wiping the sweat away. "[You're just being your, um… playful self.]"

"[T-Totally, yeah,]" she said, grinning awkwardly. "[Er… so Piplup saved you, huh?]"

Smiling at the change of topic, he nodded. "[He sure did! I swear, my life was flashing before my eyes, so he saved me good.]" Of course, the penguin was the sole reason he'd been in that situation in the first place... but she didn't need to know that.

She returned his smile. "[Oh, cool! I guess he _can_ be nice, sometimes.]"

"[Yup. Every now and again.]" He blinked upon remembering something. During his near-death experience, he'd had a strange vision, hadn't he? Of that blue thing…

Buneary tilted her head. "[Huh? Something wrong?]"

Pikachu paused contemplatively. After a short while, he shook his head. "[Nah, don't worry about it.]" She didn't need to know about that weirdness. It would probably just make him look strange.

She gazed at him for a moment longer before shrugging, apparently dropping the issue. "[Oh, by the way, feeling better? From the poison?]"

He nodded happily, stopping as they reached the cockpit. "[Sure am, thanks! Not often I have that happen to me, so it was pretty interesting. Horrible, but interesting.]"

She stopped along with him. "[Okay, then! Well, glad it's over, now. And hey, you learned a new move out of it, didn't you?]"

He gave her a confused look. "[Huh? I did?]"

"[Yeah! I was too busy fighting to watch it in action… but I heard Team Rocket saying something about you learning… what was it, again… Sludge Bomb, right?]" She looked impressed. "[Trust you to get poisoned and then _immediately_ learn a new move! You're so great!]"

Warmth climbed up his face. "[… I didn't learn a new move, Bun.]" His face went warmer still. "[I just threw up because of the poison.]"

Her face went completely blank. "[… Um… well… er… you…]" She slowly bat her paws together, "[… you're still cool. Ahaha…]"

He sighed. "[Thaaanks…]"

Coughing, she pointed at the mecha's controls. "[A-Anyway, let's push the self-destruct button, or something.]"

"[Yeah…]" he huffed, moving slightly closer to them himself. She followed suit. "[Good point, actually. I dunno what the procedure is for when it doesn't blow up. I guess we should think it over a bit before-]"

"[ _Ahaaaa!_ ]" a shrill voice called out of nowhere.

A net fell onto Pikachu, making him cry out. Looking around in a frenzy, he saw Team Rocket's mime jr, who was standing in one of the seats.

"[W-What the heck!? What're you doing here?]" Pikachu shouted.

Buneary cried out in surprise. Whirling around, he saw a net on top of her, too. Gripping onto it was Team Rocket's wobbuffet, who was in the other seat.

"[Lookie here, are those some twerps caught in our nets?]" the mime jr. started in a rhythm.

"[I'd say so, and that's about as good as it gets!]" the wobbuffet replied, continuing the rhythm.

The mime jr. posed. "[On the wind!]"

The wobbuffet posed along with him while saluting. "[Past the stars!]"

They paused for a short while. Although the silence that followed was awkward, they seemed completely oblivious to it.

Pikachu frowned. "[… No, seriously, what're you-?]"

"[Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!]" the mime jr. continued.

"[Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!]" the wobbuffet continued.

"[A rose-]"

"[No, really, what're you doing here?]" Pikachu interrupted, raising his voice. "[… And why're you doing the lines of the wrong trainers?]"

Slightly startled, the mime jr. cleared his throat. "[You thought we'd blasted off, but surprise! We're still here!]"

"[Guess staying put in these chairs was a really good idea!]" the wobbuffet joined in. "[… And James always had cooler verses.]"

"[But enough about that, it's you and me! Versus!]" the mime jr. finished, posing aggressively.

Wishing he hadn't said anything, Pikachu just shrugged, reached down, and lifted the net off him. Buneary did the same.

The wobbuffet and mime jr. immediately began to freak out. Collecting themselves, they got into battle-ready poses.

Exhaling through his nose, Pikachu did the same. Buneary seemed preoccupied with something, though.

"[Hey, what's that?]" she asked, pointing at the cockpit's window.

Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu looked outside, along with the other pokémon. On top of one of the stationary tentacles raised high in the air, he saw something blue moving around. He didn't get a good look before it jumped down, sliding down it at a fast pace as if it were a slope.

The mouse held a paw to his mouth. Could it be…?

The mime jr. shrugged and took up a battle stance again. "[Well, whatever it is, we don't care!]"

The wobbuffet saluted. "[We're gonna capture you and make our trainers'…]" He blankly held his salute, "[… day. Dayre. Dare-ay.]"

The mime jr. looked annoyed. "[ _Awww,_ we were doing so-]" He shook his head. "[Oh, whatever. It's capture time!]"

Frowning, Pikachu took on a fighting stance. Whatever was going on outside would have to wait.

Now glowing, the mime jr. continued. "[ _Get ready to dan-_ ]"

Buneary yelped loudly and hopped backwards, interrupting him. Then the windshield shattered with a loud crash when something shot through it, making Pikachu squeal in fright.

"[Leave my friends _alooooone!_ ]" Piplup screamed, diving through the window like a missile, beak glowing. He accidentally slammed into a lever while coming down, snapping it off. He landed on the floor on his face, groaning while laying there.

"[Ah! Piplup, no!]" Buneary yelled, hopping over.

The two pokémon grunts scrambled around in a panic while squealing, as if not knowing what was going on.

Pikachu was about to go and help his friends, but he stopped when he felt a rumble under his feet. Glancing around, his eye caught activity outside. Looking, his head tilted. Why were the clouds moving so fast? And… were they getting faster? He looked on with increasing worry until he tripped and fell with a yelp. His friends did the same. The heck?

Suddenly, he noticed that he, Piplup and Buneary were slowly sliding across the floor. The clouds outside were becoming a blur, too.

"[W-What's going- _Ack!_ ]" Buneary shouted, stopping when the sliding advanced into full on flying through the air. They slammed into the wall with a cry and became stuck to it, as if gravity had flipped around harshly.

"[W-What did you do, penguin!?]" the mime jr. yelled from his seat.

"[I didn't do anything!]" Piplup yelled back, pressed against the wall. "[This is _your_ fault!]"

"[No way, it was _yours!_ ]"

They continued to argue, but Pikachu ignored them to figure out what was going on. Noticing a forest-colored blur underneath the clouds outside, it clicked. The mecha's head could swivel around, couldn't it? "[Oh no, that lever made the head spin!]" he shouted.

"[Aha! I knew it was you, penguin!]" the mime jr. exclaimed.

Piplup pouted. "[Sh-Shut up! You're the guys who put that thing there in the first place!]"

"[Oh man…]" Buneary replied, looking quite green. "[No wonder I'm not feeling so good…]"

Pikachu resisted the urge to comment on the time she'd spun him around for no real reason. "[It's alright, I've got this,]" he said, rolling onto his front. Gripping onto the wall for dear life, he slowly dragged his body towards the floor. The g-forces caused by all the spinning and the wind blowing in through the broken window made it difficult, but he managed.

Upon reaching the floor, he began to climb along it, as if it were a wall. It was made of metal, but it was easy enough to jam his paws into, because of shoddy workmanship.

Straining, he pulled himself closer and closer to the controls. He had no idea what to press to stop this, but he was sure he would figure it out.

When he was about halfway there, he tried to punch another pawhold into the floor. He hit a wet patch, however, and slid right off. Unbalanced, he fell backwards with a cry.

Stumbling through the air, he hit something fluffy. Glancing at it, he was surprised to see that he was in Buneary's arms while she rose through the air, towards the controls.

"[Th-There you- _Ulp!_ ]" she started, pulling a very sickly face. "[… N-No more talking.]"

"[Fair enough,]" he replied, hoping she wasn't going to copy his earlier 'new move'. While thanking her for the save, he was startled when she fell back to the wall again, still holding him. Hitting it, she jumped off it, going much further than before while holding him, still. Noting her wind-enveloped feet, he became very thankful that she was a rabbit.

Going 'higher', Pikachu spied the wet patch from before. Face falling in horror, he looked back at his paw and suddenly wished he had just stayed stuck to the wall. Eww…

Eventually, she lost momentum and fell back to the wall again, groaning in disappointment on the way 'down'. Getting an idea, however, Pikachu hopped out of her arms and flipped around in midair. When Buneary touched down, he made a landing on top of one of her rolled up ears. Thankfully, it hadn't seemed to hurt her, though she sounded confused.

"[Hey, Buneary!]" he called out. "[When we jump again, get ready to punch as hard as possible, alright?]"

"[S-Sure!]" she called back, swallowing sharply. She jumped high into the air again.

He crouched in preparation, holding onto the unrolled ear for support. When they reached peak height, her ear sprung up, shooting him towards the controls.

Reaching them, he grabbed onto a lever and hung on. He made sure it didn't budge any further, lest he made the problem worse. Looking down at the rocket grunts' pokémon, he saw that they were stuck to their seats. The mime jr. was busy peeking around his seat, arguing with Piplup, while the wobbuffet was just screaming constantly, somehow still saluting.

"[Hey, any idea how to stop this thing?]" Pikachu called to them.

The wobbuffet continued to scream, clearly out of it. The mime jr. was still too busy arguing to pay any attention.

Sighing, Pikachu glanced around at the controls on his own. Eventually, his eyes rested on something that looked like a brake lever. He didn't know much about vehicles, but he knew enough to consider it worth a shot.

Swinging his legs back and forth for momentum, he let go of his lever to grab onto a different one. He did this a few more times until he was firmly gripping onto the brake lever. Tugging a few times to no effect, he frowned worriedly. Why wasn't it budging?

Putting his feet against the control panel, he tugged again. He kept it up until he noticed a button on the lever. Hoping it wasn't a missile-firing button or something like that, he pressed it down. A noise of delight passed his lips when the lever finally gave way. The mecha's head snapped into place, making everyone crash around the room, screaming.

Groaning, he slowly picked himself up off the floor, where he'd landed. Everyone else seemed to be lying in small heaps, dazed from the sudden stop. He should've seen that coming… Still, it was better than spinning around, endlessly.

He heard a loud splash outside. Getting to his feet, he jumped onto one of the now-empty seats and looked out of the window. His eyes widened when he saw the clouds growing in size, and the forest shrinking. What the frick!?

Jumping over Piplup, who had crashed close to the controls, he landed next to the windscreen for a better look. He saw the tentacles outside rapidly spinning around like helicopter blades. They were going fast enough for the whole freaking thing to fly away into the sky!

He scrambled around flusteredly. "[ _Oh my god, we're blasting off!_ ]" he screamed.

Picking themselves up, the others gasped.

"[Blasting off!?]" Piplup cried. "[Pikachu, what did you do!?]"

"[I just stopped the head! I didn't know it would do _this!_ ]" Pikachu retorted.

Everyone scrambled onto the windscreen. They all screamed when they saw the same thing he could. That that the lands below were shrinking more and more with each passing second.

Pikachu and Piplup did a panicked dance next to each other. Close by, the mouse saw the wobbuffet, the mime jr. and even Buneary hugging each other in fright, screaming.

"[ _This sucks worse than our vacuum diiiiiid!_ ]" the wobbuffet cried.

"[What're we gonna do, Pikachu!?]" Piplup screeched. "[I'm a flipping flightless bird!]"

"[I-I dunno!]" Pikachu shouted back. "[I-I… guess I could try steering it to safe-]"

Piplup bonked him on the head, making him yelp. "[No way! Those controls are flipping _possessed!_ The next time you touch them, we'll probably flipping _die!_ ]"

Frowning, Pikachu rubbed his head. "[Well, what else are we gonna-]"

"[Controls? I've got it!]" the mime jr. shouted, lunging towards the controls and grabbing a lever at random.

They cried at him to stop, but he ignored them and desperately pulled on it. In response, the entire mecha went upside down, sending everyone sprawling across the ceiling.

Jumping to his four paws, Pikachu looked out of the window. Their situation hadn't improved at all. The thing was still flying off into the distance. "[Screw it! _Abandon ship!_ ]" he cried out.

Without a second thought, Buneary hopped towards the hole that was still in the ceiling and dived through it. Piplup reluctantly followed her, eyes closed fearfully. Happy that his friends were out, Pikachu plunged into the hole, himself.

While falling to the lake far, far below, he looked back up at the mecha. It was spiraling off course into the horizon.

Over the whirring of the tentacles, he could barely hear the two pokémon grunts screaming something together.

"[ _Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaiiiiiin!_ ]" they both screamed.

"[ _And I'm still importaaaaaaaant!_ ]" the wobbuffet finished.

The mecha sped away into the distance.

Making a slight noise of relief, Pikachu flipped around. His heart raced in his ribcage when he saw just how far up they were. He could see the frigging _ocean_ from here! Barely, but still!

He looked below himself to find his friends. He had to squint, because of the wind rushing past, but he saw them. Piplup was tumbling down uncontrollably, and Buneary was still diving, though her feet were wriggling around, as if she were freaking out.

Pikachu had to hold back the urge to cry out. This was gonna hurt.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 18/06 (June)/2017  
 **Word count:** 2,706

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Y'know, the whole reason they're speaking in rhyme and talking like Team Rocket is because of ravengal's suggestions. She even helped me come up with some of their lines. I should basically hand this fic off to her, at this point, shouldn't I?

This chapter (and the last two) had to have a slight, slight rewrite at some point because I kept writing the action scenes too long. It's nice to have a break from the action every now and again, if only for a little bit. Otherwise it'll all just mindlessly blend together, like in a fic I read recently, which was like eighty paragraphs of 'he did this, and then he did this, but it didn't matter, because the enemy did this and then this, and blahblahblah, what was going on again?' Oh? Which fic was that, you ask? Maybe I'll tell you one day. It's almost certainly one you haven't read, though, so don't worry. I don't think you'd be able to handle the _edge._ XP

 **Shameless promotion:** Yo, if you guys like Froakie x Fennekin just as much as you do Oshawott x Snivy, you should totally go read and review **Critical Condition 2** by **MewLover54!**

It's pretty cool, and it even has some Oshawott x Snivy like the previous fic, so I hear! Snivy's a bit off her meds (no pun intended, fufufu) in the chappie she appears in, but hey, 'tis fun all the same! If I can make Oshawott go into a meme-spouting coma, then I'll accept Osha-deprived snakes. XP

 **Fun mistakes of the day #1: '** Startled, Pikachu **looed** '

(Oh no.)

 **#2: '** Swinging his legs back and forth for momentum, **he let go of his protrusion to grab onto a different one.'**

(Pikachu officially becomes gay, confirmed for canon.)

 **#3:** 'His heart raced in his **cage** when he saw just how far up they were.'

(He keeps his heart in a cage? I'm sure this is symbolic of something.)

Welp, that's all for now! Tata for nowwww! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Taking a dive._


	8. Making A Splash

**Chapter 8:** _Making A Splash_

* * *

Still falling from the heavens, dread began to creep up Pikachu's spine. From this height, they were going to be in for a world of hurt. Even if they landed in the lake…

Piplup and Buneary were still falling below him, likely freaking out just as much. With that in mind, Pikachu knew he had to do _something._

Taking a deep breath, he made a swan dive of his own, picking up in speed. En route, he grabbed the penguin's flipper, making him squawk in surprise. Going further down, he grabbed Buneary's paw with his free one. Flattening out to slow their descent, he allowed Piplup and Buneary to grab each other's paw and flipper. Their combined triangle formation slowed them further, enough to get them through this without some nasty bruises. Maybe.

"[Aghhh, Buneary, use Bounce!]" Piplup screamed.

"[From _this_ height!?]" she retorted. "[I'll break my legs!]"

"[W-Well, if we're still falling towards the lake…]" Pikachu interjected, "[we could make a safe dive!]"

Piplup shook his head. "[It'll hurt like a mother-flipper!]"

Pikachu pulled a sheepish look. "[… We could make a… slightly painful dive. Eheh…]"

The penguin shuddered in fright. "[How the Hell do Team Rocket do this on a daily basis!?]"

Buneary bit her lip. "[Man, I wish we had a hot air balloon like them, right now…]" she murmured.

Piplup blinked. "[… Hey, that's it!]" He inhaled and blew a bubble. Instead of shooting it away, he allowed it to grow below them. It continued growing until it was about three times their combined size, forming a platform for them.

Pikachu beamed as their descent slowed drastically. "[Aha, Piplup, you're a genius! Great work!]" he praised, letting go of their paw and flipper.

"[Yeah, good job!]" Buneary cheered, doing the same.

Disconnecting his beak from the bubble and getting into a seated position, the penguin smiled proudly. "[W-Well… y'know. I'm not amazing for nothing!]"

Also sitting down, Pikachu pumped a paw into the air. "[You got that right!]"

Piplup looked at him with sparkling eyes, though he tried to hide it.

Still laying down, Buneary shrugged playfully. "[Even if you are a _huge_ narcissist…]"

Frowning, Piplup lightly bat her on the head, making her cry out while giggling. "[I don't know what you're talking about!]" he retorted, crossing his flippers.

Pikachu chuckled, choosing not to comment.

With that, they stayed in comfortable silence for a little while, taking in the scenery while they calmly floated down. The sun was high in the sky, and the lands below looked so green and lush. In the distance, the mouse could see a city. Maybe it was the one Ash had been talking about the other day. Oreburgh City, was it? He couldn't wait to fight the gym, there! He always loved a thrilling challenge. It always sent his heart racing, and each hit he took just egged him on to fight even harder! The feeling of victory that often followed, too… Nothing compared!

The topic of battling reminded him of something. He looked downwards, towards the campsite a fair distance away from the lake. Everyone seemed to be crowded around while some fighting was going on. Were they training? Without him!? Hmph, well, at least it was stopping them from worrying about the giant octillery that had flown through the sky, he supposed.

"[Man, y'know… I'm so glad we stopped those goons,]" Piplup started, interrupting Pikachu's thoughts.

"[You said it…]" Buneary agreed. "[If we'd left them alone, they would've totally wrecked the lake…]"

Pikachu shrugged aloofedly. "[Eh, there was no need to worry. They're always pulling annoying schemes like this. And the only stuff that gets damaged at the end of the day is them and their dumb machines, so hey.]"

"[No need to worry!?]" Piplup exclaimed. "[After we were almost caught, like, _three_ times!?]"

The mouse paused before scratching his chin. "[Yeah… I guess their plans aren't usually as chaotic as this one, huh?]"

"[I should hope not! It was pretty worrying…]"

"[Wait…]" Buneary started, "[how often do you get into these sorts of adventures, anyway? Ones where you have to fight off those annoying guys.]"

Pikachu tilted his head. "[Uh, well… not often, I guess? Like… at least once a week. More if we're unlucky, which is pretty often.]"

"[Yeah. They've been stalking him since he was a kid, apparently,]" Piplup added.

"[A _big_ kid, but yeah, I guess,]" Pikachu corrected with a sigh. "[They just don't know when to give up…]"

Buneary's eyes widened a little more. "[… And you've fought those guys off _every_ time?]"

"[Well, I guess so. Not without help from my friends, though. If it wasn't for them, I'd be a member of Team Rocket right now, whether I liked it or not.]" A fate worse than death, as far as he was concerned…

"[Uh huh! Especially if he didn't have help from _me,_ ]" Piplup boasted. "[Guy wishes I'd been around to help out in the other regions.]"

Pikachu slowly shook his head in exasperation. "[Would've been… interesting, for sure.]"

The penguin crossed his arms. "[Hmph! What's _that_ supposed to mean?]"

"[Er, nothing…]" he said, trying not to grin. He had to admit, it was good to see Piplup fully back to normal. Especially after his little breakdown from before.

"[Wow…]" Buneary muttered, holding a paw up to her mouth in… shock? Surprise? Pikachu couldn't tell. "[That… is… so…]" Her face began to positively glow as she moved about excitedly. "[ _Amaziiing~_!]"

Pikachu and Piplup's heads jolted back in surprise.

"[Er… it is?]" Pikachu asked.

"[You mean me, right?]" Piplup asked.

"[Nah- Well… I mean, yeah, you're great, too… but I meant Pikachu! After all…]" She gave Pikachu a wonderment-filled look. "[You've been fighting off bad guys, and their evil schemes _and_ their giant robots on an almost daily basis for _years!_ And yet you're acting as if it's nothing! Just… wow.]"

Pikachu scratched the back of his neck. "[Well… thanks? I mean, they're usually not all that hard to deal with, but...]"

Piplup huffed loudly. "[Arceus above, you're so _amazingly_ biased! You may as well just propose to the guy!]"

Her look of wonderment was replaced with one of annoyance. "[Tsk, that coming from the guy who's in love with _himself…_ ]"

"[Heyy, no, I'm nooot!]" he wailed, repeatedly hitting the bubble with his flippers, making it wobble slightly.

"[Coulda fooled me…!]"

Pikachu flusterdly shook his head. "[Alright, break it up, you two.]"

"[But… Piplup doesn't think you're cool!]" she argued.

"[Of course I do!]" Piplup argued back. "[He's just not as cool as me, is all.]"

"[Same difference!]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Guys, please… my coolness isn't worth fighting over. Besides, I keep getting caught by those silly jerks every week of my life. How's that cool at all?]"

Buneary shook her head. "[Well, that's only because those guys always use cheap tactics and machines. When they had to fight you fair and square, today, you freaking blasted them off into the stratosphere!]" she exclaimed, her paw moving upwards as if to mime the scene. "[Not even poison could stop you!]"

"[Oh, brother…]" Piplup muttered. "[Such flippin' bias!]"

She crossed her arms. "[Not my fault if it's true. Without their dumb robots, they wouldn't stand a single chance against you, Pikachu!]"

Pikachu began to blush bashfully. He'd never really considered it that way before. "[Oh, well… I-I guess so, maybe. Eheh…]"

"[Now you're starting to make him sound like a legendary!]" Piplup groaned, throwing his flippers into the air in annoyance. "[Can't you think of _anything_ bad to say about the guy? Seriously!]"

"[Yeah, he's got a point, I guess,]" Pikachu agreed. "[I mean, I appreciate the flattery, but I ain't a Mew, Bun. Surely, I've screwed up _somewhere._ ]"

Her wonderment-filled look faded away, soon becoming replaced with a contemplative one. "[Oh, well… er…]" She assumed a thinking pose and held it. "[Screw-ups… Umm…]"

"[Oh, how 'bout the wurmple teasing thing I did this morning?]" Pikachu suggested. "[And the... stuff I said about my... electric sacs?]"

Buneary quickly perked up. "[Ohh, yeah! Those are some! He can be a bit of a troll _and_ a little dim!]"

His shoulders slumped slightly. "[H-Hey... what do ya mean 'dim'?]"

She began to sweat. "[U-Um... but not all that dim, y'know? J-Just a little teeny bit.]"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. Considering all the tales she'd told about her horrible ideas, that was a bit much, coming from her. "[Thanks...]"

Coughing embarrassedly, she turned back to Piplup. "[S-So yeah, there ya have it! Faults!]"

"[Well... that would be fine and dandy...]" the penguin started before looking irritated, "[but Pikachu came up with 'em, so you can't just copy him, you cheater!]" He put his flippers to his hips. "[Besides, faults aren't screw-ups. Technically.]"

Her unrolled ear deflated a little. "[Aw, phooey. Hmph, alright then, I'll think of something else.]" She went back to holding her thinking pose, brows furrowed.

"[… Well? Anything?]" Piplup inquired after several seconds. "[Anything from _you_ , that is?]"

"[Gimmie a sec, I'm think-…]" She suddenly bat a paw into her other one, her face lighting up. "[I've got it! On that pokétch day, you fell something like sixty-hundred feet from Team Rocket's balloon!]"

Pikachu grimaced. "[Aww, Bun, did you have to remind me of that? I'm still finding bruises under my fur from that, no thanks to Ash being a lousy catch.]"

Buneary rubbed the back of her head. "[Ahah, s-sorry… but still, it's something! And it would've happened again, today, if it weren't for Piplup's bubble skills!]"

He sighed and shrugged. "[You're not wrong, I guess.]"

Piplup scratched his beak. "[Hmm… I guess that's- Wait…!]" He began to squirm around in annoyance. "[That's even _more_ freaking praising! It'd be a screw-up if he died from falling a few inches, not surviving a huge fall from the flipping sky!]" He paused. "[… Which is something I could've totally done, too, if Starly didn't catch me that day.]"

She stalled for a second. "[I, er… Darn.]"

"[No worries,]" Pikachu said, offering her a small smile. "[Got anything else? Maybe from today?]"

She continually bopped her head while thinking hard. "[Hmm… I guess… you were poisoned and threw up!]" She blinked. Then she groaned. "[But you recovered and still won, so that wasn't a… Aghh…!]"

Piplup's eyes widened. "[ _What?_ What do you _mean_ you threw up? Are you okay?]"

Face warming, Pikachu shook his paws dismissively. "[F-Fine and dandy, don't worry! I… just got a bit sick, because of that dustox's poison needles.]" On that note, he quickly rubbed his palm against the bubble.

"[Jeez, that sucks. Sorry to hear that.]" He frowned. "[But yeah, you surviving that is totally not a screw-up.]"

Buneary huffed. Soon after, she perked up. "[I guess he _did_ almost drown! If it weren't for you, he might've gone water-type, and then some.]"

Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. His chuckles grew more awkward when he saw Piplup frown sadly. "[Y-Yeah! All my fault!]" he said, making sure Piplup could see his smile.

"[Ha… yeah…]" the penguin mumbled.

Buneary looked a little concerned. "[Er… you okay?]"

Piplup shook his head, his frown going more confident. "[Y-Yeah! And yes, I suppose that _was_ a bit of a mishap! But… well…]" He slowly patted his flippers together. "[I, er… don't want to count it as one of his screw-ups.]"

Her face fell. "[Awww, why not? That's not fair!]"

Piplup looked like he was struggling for an answer, so Pikachu cut in. "[W-Well, you didn't see it, did you? You only heard about it! Eheh.]"

She huffed sadly. "[Darn it all. I thought I was onto something, too.]"

"[Ah well, it's alright,]" he reassured, grinning. "[Maybe you'll find a screw-up-y fault later down the line, eh?]"

"[In a million years, maybe…]" Piplup said, shrugging irritably, having perked up.

She huffed at him. "[If you keep that up, I'll start talking about _your_ faults…]"

The penguin stuck his beak into the air. "[Hmph! It'll be one heck of a short conversation, then, won't it?]"

Actually almost chuckling at that, she rolled her eyes. "[You wish.]"

Exasperatedly shaking his head yet again, Pikachu spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Looking below the bubble, he smiled. "[Oh, hey! I think if we dived into the lake from here, we'd be alright!]"

"[Oh, cool!]" Buneary replied, getting to her feet. She jumped off the bubble with many flips, going into a dive. "[Last one there's a rotten tomato~!]"

"[Hey, no fair!]" Pikachu and Piplup retorted at once. They used the bubble like a spring board and went into their own dives. It popped soon after.

With a short plummet, Pikachu went straight into the water. The feeling of the cold liquid against his skin was _so_ refreshing after all the stuff he'd been through today. So refreshing, in fact, that he almost forgot all about the drowning incident. As if the mild trauma had been washed away by the pleasant water of the lake.

He grimaced slightly as his lower half settled in the water, for… reasons. It was only now that he wasn't high on adrenaline that he noticed it… but considering how often he'd been in the water in the day, it could have been worse.

Breaking the surface of the water along with his friends, he laughed joyfully. They did the same.

"[Hey, looks like we have the whole lake to ourselves!]" Buneary chimed, face slightly scrunched.

Looking around, Pikachu noticed that she was right. The lake was pretty much barren, unlike before, when it had been bustling with pokémon. "[You're right! Guess that big octillery must've scared everyone away!]" he said.

"[Well, let's not waste any time, then!]" Piplup said, beaming. "[Let's celebrate with some swimming!]"

Pikachu and Buneary cheered in agreement before getting ready to splash about in the lake.

* * *

Jumping out of the water, Pikachu batted the big bubble Piplup had created earlier for their game. It flew in Piplup's direction, who jumped upwards and slapped it towards Buneary. She swam backwards to bop it back towards Piplup, who headbutted it towards Pikachu.

Jumping with a twirl, the mouse slapped it with his tail. It flew towards Buneary, who yelped and barely batted it towards Piplup.

Screeching, the penguin held his flippers in front of his face. The bubble flew into him with a watery explosion, making him briefly fly through the air, landing with a splash.

Pikachu and Buneary swam closer to the penguin, who lay on his back on the water, groaning.

"[Dang it… I thought I was gonna get it, this time,]" he muttered.

"[Hey, you've lost less than me, if it makes ya feel better!]" Buneary replied with a wink.

She wasn't wrong. During the fifteen minutes they'd been playing, Piplup was easily the second best when it came to 'water catch'.

The penguin corrected his posture and put his flippers to his hips. "[Oh, well… I am an expert swimmer!]" he boasted.

"[Hence the water-typing,]" she replied, smirking.

"[Well… I'm _extra_ water-type, is all I'm saying!]"

"[Sure, sure…]" She turned to Pikachu and smiled. "[I'm starting to think _you're_ water-type, too! How're you able to do all those trick shots all the time?]"

He grinned bashfully. "[Heh, well, y'know. Years of practice, as they say.]"

"[Ahaha, clearly!]"

Piplup rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue, floating upright again. "[I knew it. It was only a matter of time until you started stroking his ego…]"

She pouted at him. "[Yeah, well… he deserves it!]"

"[I've said it before, and I'll say it again… not _that_ flipping much.]"

"[That's where you're wrong!]"

Pikachu resisted the urge to sigh again. It was almost like watching his siblings argue about random stuff, all over again.

"[Next, I'll bet you'll start praising the weird 'move name calling' thing he does,]" Piplup continued.

She looked like she was going to argue, though she paused. "[… Actually, no, that is a little weird.]"

Pikachu almost forgot to tread water in his shock. "[What? Weird!?]"

She gave a sheepish look. "[J-Just a little bit!]"

"[More like _very!_ ]" Piplup snarked.

Pikachu sank up to his neck, the water feeling colder against his face than before. He couldn't believe he was hearing this. "[Oh, come on… even you, Bun?]" He frowned at Piplup. "[And _you_ told me you liked it!]"

"[Well, yeah…]" Piplup replied, shrugging. "[It's cool in a 'comic book hero' kind of way… but it makes it way harder to take things seriously when you're screaming…]" He pulled a goofy expression and used a silly voice, "[' _Thunderboooolt'_ ]" He went back to normal, "[… at the top of your lungs every attack.]"

Chuckling a little, Buneary slowly tapped her paws together. "[… Honestly, I think it's a _liiiiittle_ dorky,]" she admitted quietly.

Groaning in embarrassment, Pikachu flopped backwards, floating on his back. "[… Well, I like doing it, so nyeh,]" he remarked, staring at the clouds above.

She coughed out a chuckle. "[W-Well… at least you're plenty powerful to make up for it! Even a little doofiness can't stop everyone fearing your _awesomeness!_ ]"

He swiveled upright to start treading water again. "[Thanks. I think.]"

"[No, seriously, you're-]"

"['Cool, amazing and wonderful', yeah, we get it!]" Piplup retorted dryly. "[Tell us something we _don't_ flipping know.]"

She huffed loudly and splashed a little water at him. "[Yeah, well… you wouldn't be complaining if _you_ were getting all the compliments from me!]"

He held his beak in the air. "[Of course I wouldn't. Because, not only would it be true and not complete flattery like it is with Pikachu…]"

"[Oh, yes, it would be…]"

Crossing his arms, he ignored her and continued. "[… It would also mean I get a free love life to myself, wouldn't it?]"

She spluttered and flailed around, splashing water everywhere. "[ _W-What!?_ What're you trying to say!?]"

He blinked. "[… W-Well, I mean, if I wanted it, anyway. You'd have to impress me first!]"

She calmed down, though she still looked weirded out. "[Oh, well, good. Because I don't just wanna start relationships outta nowhere, buster.]"

A part of Pikachu was relieved to hear that. It was proof that she didn't have feelings for him. Something he could ward Piplup's accusations away with! Maybe not now, though.

"[Electrical mice notwithstanding, I guess,]" Piplup muttered.

Pikachu exhaled forcefully through his nose. He was tempted to change his mind and use that proof now, after all.

Buneary was going to say something, but Pikachu decided to interject and kill the argument. "[Hey, y'know, if anyone deserves praise… it's you two!]!"

She tilted her head at him. "[Huh? Say what?]"

"[Us?]" Piplup added, looking curious.

"[Yeah!]" Pikachu replied. He pointed at Piplup. "[If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead meat right now. Or worse, a member of Team Rocket.]"

Buneary giggled. With some brief contemplating, she nodded. "[Yeah, same. Well, maybe without the life-saving part, but hey, you really helped me out,]" she said. "[You're a bro! Thanks!]"

Piplup stared at them briefly before holding his head high, flippers to hips. "[Well… yes, naturally! I keep the whole team together, and everything, after all,]" he said, notably beaming.

Pikachu pointed at Buneary. "[And you, Bun… the only reason me and Piplup escaped those Rocket goons today was because of you and your Ice Beam. And that's not even mentioning all the help you gave us all the other times.]"

Piplup mulled that over before nodding in agreement. "[Yeah, true enough. Even I have to admit I was in way over my head there. For once…]" He looked off to the side and coughed. "[Er, and I guess I should thank you for that time the other day, too. When you saved us from being airlifted away. I was… slightly in over my head back then, too. _Slightly._ ]"

Pikachu chuckled and nodded. "[Yeah, that was great!]" He grimaced a little. "[Even if I did fall and hurt myself, afterwards.]"

She began to pat her paws together bashfully, her face growing red. "[Ahah, well, y'know… gotta keep my friends safe, no matter what, right?]"

Pikachu smiled warmly at that. "[Man, Bun. Anyone ever tell you how much of a super cool gal you are?]"

She stared at him. "[Wait… really? You think I'm…?]"

"[A real cool gal, yeah! You must be if you're so willing to stick your nose out for us, even though we just met a few days ago.]"

Piplup huffed in amusement. "[You mean 'stick your _neck_ out for us', man.]"

Pikachu paused before bashfully rubbing the back of his head. "[… Eheh, er, point still stands.]"

The rabbit continued to stare, almost unblinkingly, as redness grew on her face. She then quickly reached under the water, grabbed the fluff around her waist and lifted it, bashfully covering her mouth. She ignored the water slapping against her face as a result. "[O-O-Oh, um, goodness. Well… th-thank you…!]" she mumbled, seeming greatly touched by the compliment. "[That's... really nice! Ahaha…!]"

Getting somewhat used to her quirkiness, he chuckled softly. "[Hey, no problem. I'm glad you're on our side.]"

"[I'll bet _she's_ happy to be on your side, too…]" Piplup snarked, earning yet another groan from Pikachu. "[But yeah, I'm with him. Obvious crush aside, you're not half bad.]"

"[That's real swell to hear. Th-Thanks, you guys. Ahah…]" she replied.

Pikachu made a happy noise before starting towards the shore. "[Well, it's been fun, but we should probably get going. Won't take long 'till Ash wants to keep on going with the journey again.]" He began to wade back towards the campsite.

"[Ah. Okay then…]" Buneary replied, following after him.

"[Yeah, fair enough,]" Piplup agreed, doing the same. "[We've got a long way to go before we get to… Oreburgh City, right?]"

"[Yeah, that's the place,]" Pikachu replied. "[We're gonna fight our first Sinnoh gym battle there.]"

"[Huh, neat.]"

"[Yeah, that's cool, I guess,]" Buneary added, sounding somewhat solemn.

"[Hm? Hey, what's wrong, Bun?]" Pikachu asked, turning to face her.

Her eyes stopped trailing the lake floor below her. "[O-Oh, well… I'm just… well… I'm not gonna be seeing this place again for a long time, am I? What with the journey, 'n' everything…]"

With a small exhale, he paddled closer and pat her on the back. "[Hey, don't worry, Bun. I'm sure we'll return sometime.]"

"[He's right,]" Piplup added, moving in front of them slightly, "[it ain't massively far from Dawn's place, so we'll be back eventually!]"

She smiled softly at the two of them. "[Ahah, true. Well, hopefully. Someday…]"

"[Yeah, here's hoping,]" Pikachu responded. "[This lake's _way_ too awesome not to visit again. It's one of the best I've ever been to!]"

The penguin shrugged apathetically. "[Eh. It's not as cool as Lake Verity. That one belongs to a legendary!]"

Pikachu huffed, not sure whether to be amused or exasperated. "[You're so hard to please, Pip.]"

"[Having high standards doesn't mean I'm hard to please,]" Piplup argued, beak in the air. "[It just means that I have exquisite taste!]"

"[Er… yeah. Of course,]" the mouse relented.

Buneary huffed quietly in what sounded like amusement. "[Oh, you guys…]"

While they continued travelling back to base, Pikachu couldn't stop the edges of his mouth from curling upwards. He was happy to have such interesting friends. Sure, one was the strangest bunny on the planet, and the other had an ego bigger than Saffron City, except for when he didn't… but hey, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed having them around. They certainly made his life more interesting than it had been in Hoenn! Or the Battle Frontier, up until they'd met Aipom, anyway.

Still, he really couldn't help but wonder what kinds of times he had ahead of him. Knowing the bunny's affectionate side and everyone else's love of teasing, he could only guess…

As they neared the bank, a thought crossed his mind. Speaking of teasing, Piplup had mentioned something earlier, hadn't he? Something about the mouse saying stuff that would've amused Aipom. What had the penguin even been talking about? What was funny about riding Piplup while he was laid on his front?

… The mouse's eyes widened. Then, face bursting into heat, he sank like a brick into the water. Good lord, _noooooo!_

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished-**  
 **Old stuff:** 18/06 (June)/2016  
 **New stuff:** 18/06/ (June)/2017 (Again, happy birthday to the chapter! Kind of.)

 **Word count:** 4,034

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** And thus ends the lake arc! Hope you enjoyed the shenanigans that followed Team Rocket's usual brand of amusing, useless villainy!

Honestly, it wasn't going to be several chapters long… but I need the writing practice, and it was very fun to write, so why not? Special thanks to ravengal for helping me do a Team Rocket. It's hard to write them as their goofy selves while keeping it believable. The alternative was either being boring and making them safe, or being edgy like two other writers I know, and making them evil and murderous, for some reason.

Next chapter's a new arc, featuring more awkward shenanigans from Pikachu. Hope you enjoy!

 **Shameless promotion:** Today, I recommend an obscure little story called **Of Shocks And Hops** by **Leaflame.**

It's a cute little story where Ash and the Kalos gang spot a horde of Buneary. After a wacky convo, the trainers notice Pikachu looking very nostalgic, for some reason. Curious, Clemont brings out his device that allows him to communicate with pokémon to figure out what exactly is wrong. Little do they know that Pikachu has some questions of the heart to ask…

It's quite cute, and I'd recommend it! Even though I don't like Kalos all that much, for several reasons, I found myself appreciating the fic quite a bit. :P

 **Fun mistakes of the day #1:** "[ **…** Besides, I keep getting caught by Team Rocket every week of my life. How's that **any** cool?]"

(Oh man, this one actually made ravengal burst out laughing. I've really gotta start reading these out loud to myself, lest I stop being any cool)

 **#2:** "[...I'm still finding bruises under my fur from that, no thanks to **Ash's** being a bad catch.]"

(What about Ash's being a bad catch?)

 **#3:** 'The bubble flew into him with a watery explosion, **exploding him.** '

(Bubble Bobble, the extreme edition)

 **#4:** Pikachu and **Piplup** swam closer to the **penguin**

(Piplup managed to swim towards himself. He's just that amazing, I guess! Either that, or this fic is very deep)

 **#5:** 'it would also mean a free love life for **me,w** ouldn't it?'

(Surprise! This fic's actually a Mew love story.)

 **#6:** {While floating in water} 'He began to walk back towards the campsite.'

(Who does he think he is? Jesus Christ? Then again, if you asked Buneary…)

 **#7:** "[I'm sure we'll return sometime. This lake's way too awesome not to awesome!]"

(Do _you_ like **_awesome_** things that are **_awesome_** _!?_ )

Alright, and with that out the way, I'm off to get ticked off at Kirby's stupid True Arena BS again. This time, in Planet Roboplanet, or whatever the silly thing's called. Tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Shuddering onwards..._


	9. An Appealing Flirt

**Arc III:** The Ongoing Awkwardness

 **Chapter 9:** _An Appealing Flirt_

* * *

It had been a good week or so since the lake incident. Pikachu wished he could say that times had become less weird since that day, but, instead…

"[-aaaand that's how I learned that it's not a good idea to steal from a gang of ariados,]" Dawn's new pokémon, Pachirisu, finished happily. "[The pain didn't stop for weeks! Haha!]"

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Pikachu gave the little squirrel an odd look. "[Oh… I'm… sorry to hear that?]" he replied.

Pachirisu's smile brightened as much as the sun above. "[Oh, _oh!_ That's _nowhere_ near as cool as my other story, though! Wanna hear about the time I was surrounded on all sides by loads and loads of… I think pinsir and breloom and other stuff, in some foggy forest somewhere? That's when I learned Discharge!]"

Pikachu exhaled forcefully, half out of exasperation and half out of fatigue. Goodness, this odd little squirrel never stopped talking. "[Er… maybe some other time. After all, this is something like… the twelfth story you've told me this morning.]"

"[Aww, really? But I have so many to talk about, though…!]" Pachirisu whined.

"[Well… why not talk to someone like Starly- I mean, Staravia, or something, instead?]" he said, gesturing towards their campsite nearby.

The squirrel pouted. "[Nobody listens as much as _you_ do, though… 'specially not _that_ guy.]"

Pikachu almost sighed. As well as being incredibly bizarre, it seemed that _everybody_ in Dawn's team enjoyed spending time around him the most. He could never entirely fathom why, though… "[C'mon, Pachirisu. That's not true. Probably...]" he replied.

With folded arms - well, as folded as they could get, anyway - Pachirisu huffed. "[As if! They all keep saying they're too busy, before going away to do whatever it is we mons do when we're not busy.]" The squirrel's pout deepened. "[… Most likely nothing.]"

"[Um… oh.]"

Tsk, so everyone was trying to avoid the squirrel, were they? Poor kid. Still, Pikachu honestly couldn't say he was very surprised. Out of everyone in Dawn's team, Pachirisu was easily the quirkiest. Even more so than Buneary… which was really saying something.

… Alright, not really. Nobody matched Buneary's quirkiness. Still, the squirrel certainly did come close.

That said, the rabbit hadn't seemed so quirky as of late. Well, she was still a peculiar case, of course, but ever since their visit to the lake a week or so ago, she hadn't seemed quite as… nuzzle-y as before. Not that he was complaining, seeing as it was awkward whenever she did stuff like that… but still, it was pretty odd.

"[Are ya sure you can't handle another thrilling tale…?]" Pachirisu asked, giving a pleading look that would put a growlith puppy to shame.

Pikachu offered a reassuring smile. "[Hey, tell ya what. How about we do that later on tonight, once we get to the next stop? Um… Jubilife City, or wherever it was?]"

"[Ooh, cool beans, okay!]" the squirrel chimed before excitedly hopping up and down. "[Tee hee, I can't wait 'till I get you to shudder at my more embarrassing stories!]"

Pikachu's smile faded into a grimace. "[W-What's that supposed to mean? Why do you wanna see me shudder?]"

Pachirisu blinked. "[… Oh, whoops. Umm, welp, skitty's outta the bag, now, I guess!]" the squirrel said with a shrug. "[Fingers - or that aipom, whatever - keeps saying how easy it is to embarrass you, and that sounds funny as all heck! So of course I wanna see that!]"

Pikachu groaned. Of course it had to involve Aipom… "[No _wonder_ you wanted to tell me your stories! I'll bet you made the whole thing up about nobody listening to you, didn't you?]"

"[Nahhh, not really. Nobody likes how weird and sassy I am, I don't think. You're just enough of a…]" Pachirisu's head briefly rocked back and forth. "[… 'polite word for a doormat' to accept it, though! Something that's _reaaaally_ appreciated, by the way, so thanks!]"

Pikachu flopped to the ground in exasperation. "[… You're welcome…]"

The squirrel frowned in a somewhat worried manner. "[Oh no… don't tell me you're mysteriously going to be busy tonight, now, too…]"

Pikachu got back to his feet. "[Nahh, I promised… so sure, we'll do it tonight, I guess.]"

Beaming, Pachirisu hopped up and down again. "[Yayy! Thanks!]" The squirrel stopped hopping to wink at him. "[Just for that, I'll only embarrass you a _little_ tonight!]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes with a slight smile. "[I can't wait…]"

"[What's this about you two 'doing something embarrassing' tonight?]" Aipom suddenly cut in from the side, chuckling.

"[Oh. Hey, Fingers!]" Pachirisu said, smiling.

Pikachu jolted back in surprise. "[Huh? Aipom, what do you-?]" He paused, realizing what the monkey was getting at. "[… Ack! W-What're you trying to imply, exactly!?]"

She gave a coy look. "[Ohh, I think you know what I mean…! Trying to make your girlfriend jealous, are ya, Pikachu?]"

He covered his now-warm face. "[Ughh, Aipom… this again?]"

"[Haha, yup!]"

Pachirisu's head tilted. "[Girlfriend…? I didn't know you had one of those, Mascot Man.]"

"[… Mascot Man?]" Pikachu asked, uncovering his face.

"[Yeah! You're pretty much the face of the gang, so you're our mascot. 'Specially since you're out of your ball all the time.]"

"[I… guess so?]"

Aipom shrugged. "[With how much Buneary talks about you, I'll flippin' believe you're the mascot…]"

Pikachu couldn't stop himself from groaning again. "[For crying out loud, why do you keep insisting that we're both dating?]"

"[I didn't just then. You said it, not me!]"

"[I… But… Ughh, I swear, you're worse than you were before Ash caught ya.]"

She grinned and gave a short bow. "[You're too kind!]"

Pachirisu suddenly looked confused. "[Hey, hey, hey, wait… You think _Buneary_ is Pikachu's girlfriend, Fingers?]"

"[Think? I know it, kid!]"

The squirrel gave a scratch of the head with the spikes on his tail. "[… Huh… that's… really weird, but alright.]"

Pikachu made a sound of relief. "[Oh, I know, right? Finally, someone agrees with me!]"

"[Yeah! It's just odd.]"

"[Who agrees with what now?]" someone from behind the mouse asked. "[And did someone mention me?]"

Pikachu's ears perked up. Turning around, he came face to face with the fluff-covered rabbit of interest herself. "[Oh! Er…]" he started.

"[Aipom seems to think that you're Pikachu's girlfriend, but that's real silly, ain't it?]" Pachirisu chimed in. "[Pikachu certainly thinks so.]"

"[Oh… that so?]" Buneary asked, sounding somewhat put off.

Out of embarrassment, Pikachu began to sweat. Oh no, had she been offended? That _had_ sounded like an insult, after all, so… "[H-Hey! I didn't mean that you're un-dateable, or anything like that! I'm just… y'know,]" he quickly explained.

Aipom giggled. "[So you _do_ have something for Buneary!]"

He turned to her, cheeks warming. "[No, I flipping don't! When did I say that?]"

"[Just then! You said she was dateable, which sounds suspicious to me…!]"

Pachirisu looked confused. "[Huh? But…]"

Ignoring the squirrel, Pikachu frantically shook his head. "[I-I meant generally! Not… you know. I mean… Urgh!]" He turned to Buneary, grimacing sheepishly. "[Y-You get what I mean, right?]"

She studied him for a while, almost as if trying to decide something. Before he could ask again, though, she nodded slowly. "[Yeah, I… think?]" she said.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Well, mild relief, anyway. He hadn't upset her, at least, though that unsure tone wasn't putting him at ease, either.

Pachirisu repeatedly looked back and forth between everyone, still confused. "[B-But that ain't… I mean…]" Both paws clutched at the squirrel's head. "[Ohhh, you guys are hurting my head too much. I'm gonna go let off some steam by climbing up and down and up a tree, or something.]" The squirrel abruptly turned tail and ran. "[Toodles!]"

They waved at him while saying some goodbyes, some more awkwardly than others.

"[… What's he freaking out about?]" Aipom asked, using the hand on her tail to scratch her head.

Pikachu shrugged. "[I have no-]" He jolted back in surprise. "[Wait, 'he'? Is _that_ his gender?]"

She shrugged. "[Eh. Don't even think he knows, to be honest.]"

"[It's alright either way, though… right?]" Buneary asked.

Aipom shrugged. "[Whatever floats his boat.]"

After mulling this over, Pikachu nodded. "[I guess so, yeah. Doesn't change much at the end of the day, really, does it?]"

Buneary smiled. "[Yeah.]"

"[Well, whatevs,]" Aipom started. "[Methinks I'm gonna go annoy Piplup for a giggle or two.]" She grinned mischievously again. "[Besides, you two need some aloooone time. Ain't I right? Haha!]"

Turning his head away, Pikachu nearly let loose another groan. "[N-Not really…]"

The monkey chuckled again before finally going on her merry way. Thank flipping goodness…

Once she was out of earshot, Pikachu turned to Buneary and smiled apologetically. "[Man, I'm _so_ sorry about all that. She's such a huge handful…]"

"[It's alright,]" she reassured before winking. "[You're much too handsome for me to get mad at. Ahaha~]"

Some cold sweat dripped down the mouse's head. "[Um, oh, you…]"

"[Besides, it ain't like you don't like me or anything… right?]"

"['Course not! I think you're a real fun friend.]"

"[Hee, right back at'cha, Pika!]" she chimed.

"[Heh, thanks.]" His eyes widened slightly. "[Wait, P-Pika? That's an awfully cutesy name, ain't it?]"

"[Well, you called me Bun, so I'm returning the favor, Pika!]"

"[Well… fair enough, I guess.]"

Smiling, she nuzzled him. "[Besides, I think a cool guy like you deserves a cool name.]"

"[Th-Thanks…]" he replied, resisting the urge to inch away. Oh dear, she was back to being as cuddle-happy as ever, it seemed. Still, against his better judgment, he allowed it. Even with the threat of someone watching, which he hoped wasn't the case.

Oh, well. At least his time in Sinnoh couldn't get any _more_ embarrassing… right?

* * *

A month or so had passed since that annoying day involving both Pachirisu's stories and Hunter J's attack, later in the day. Despite that, Pikachu's adventures in Sinnoh refused to get any less interesting. Especially now, it seemed. Right now, he was staring down Buneary and Buizel - Dawn's newest pokémon - on the rocky fields near a forest. All of them were ready to fight in a practice double-appeal battle. The mouse was a little distracted by how his opponents' cream-colored eyebrows looked so similar, but still, he stood firm.

Aipom, who stood next to him, gave him an encouraging nod. "[You ready for this?]" she asked.

"[Only if you are, too,]" Pikachu replied, nodding back.

She smirked. "[Hah, good!]"

Ash asked the duo the same question soon after, eliciting an energetic response from them.

"Buizel! Buneary!" Dawn started. "Let's do this right!"

"[Alright, got'cha,]" Buizel replied, trying his hardest to sound cool, as always.

Buneary looked slightly hesitant. "[Aww, do we have to fight each other, though?]" she asked. She struck a pose and winked at Pikachu. "[After all, I'm against hurting cuties~!]"

Pikachu stiffened. "[Wh-What!?]"

With a sigh, Dawn crouched down next to the rabbit. "No, Buneary… this is an appeal battle, not a date," she muttered.

Buneary blinked. Apparently remembering everyone around her, she then looked shocked. "[E-Er, um…]"

"[Coulda fooled me!]" Aipom joked, laughing. "[Sounds like she'd rather make love, not war.]"

Sweating profusely, Pikachu slumped exasperatedly. "[Ughh, oh, shut up…]"

She giggled even harder and nudged him in the shoulder with her tail's hand. He also spotted Buizel crossing his arms and facing away, clearly trying not to laugh. Something that only made the mouse sweat more.

Buneary began to look somewhat embarrassed. Quickly afterwards, she got into a more battle-ready pose. "[Er, a-anyway, yeah! Let's go!]"

Pikachu sighed. Buneary just _had_ to act playful now, didn't she? And to top it off, more teasing from Dawn and Aipom… It was just his day, clearly.

Regardless, he got ready for action as Aipom prepared a Swift attack on Ash's order. Hopefully, a battle could take Pikachu's mind off things, if nothing else. Even if it _was_ just a contest-y appeal battle.

* * *

Sitting down, Pikachu winced as Aipom used her tail's hand to massage a particularly ache-y spot on his shoulder. Despite that, though, he smiled. While quick, that had been a fun battle. That said, thanks to ramming into Buizel's Aqua Jet with his Volt Tackle, he felt like he was going to faint any second. Luckily, Aipom's shoulder rubs kept him from collapsing into a pained heap, so they were greatly appreciated.

"[Hey, by the way, great work out there, as always!]" she praised. "[You been sneaking in some extra training, or something?]"

He chuckled. "[Hardly. Ash makes us do enough as is.]"

She laughed along. "[True, that!]"

Looking around the area, Pikachu noted what everyone else was doing. Buizel was currently staring into a nearby pool of water, clearly angsting over his and Buneary's failed 'Ice Aqua Jet' technique. The humans, including the orange-haired one called Zoey, were discussing some random contest-related topics. Piplup was hanging around Zoey's glameow and pink shellos, most likely bragging about himself, judging by that proud smile of his. Buneary and Pachirisu were currently talking about something, though Pikachu had no idea what. It involved a wink from Pachirisu, whatever it was.

Looking at the rabbit, Pikachu was reminded of that 'cutie' comment she'd made today. Right in full view of everyone, too. Man, she sure was getting extra bold with her playful flirting, lately. Which was just fabulous, considering how much the others liked to tease him about it. The humans teased him with their 'oh my gosh, they're in love~!' comments… Piplup did so with his 'she obviously likes you, so just go out already!' comments. And Aipom… well, it was just open season for her.

Was it really only _him_ who brought out Buneary's flirtatious side, though? It was hard to think of anyone else she'd acted that way towards. That said… maybe he was the only one she found handsome enough to flirt with?

… Oh, great. Now he was starting to sound like Piplup. That couldn't be a good sign, no offense to the guy. Still, it was a point. The mouse didn't really tend to think of himself as cool or handsome, like Buizel was… but he was a real good battler, if he did say so himself. _That_ might have made him attractive enough to flirt with. Besides, speaking of Buizel, now that he was around, maybe Buneary would start to flirt with him, too?

Oh well, whatever. It wasn't like it mattered too much, anyway. Even if everyone else was right about her feelings, which they probably weren't… no, _definitely_ weren't, the only reason they'd care would be just to have ammunition to make fun of him with, anyway. That's how it always went. Always…

He couldn't hold back a sudden sigh of content when Aipom kneaded some stubborn knots out of his shoulder. Good Arceus, he hadn't known how much he'd needed that.

"[Wow, you sure liked that one, didn't ya?]" the monkey said with a giggle.

"[Um, y-yeah… just a bit,]" he replied, face warming slightly. "[You sure know how to work a shoulder.]"

"[Hee, you bet!]"

With a pause, he tilted his head. "[Say… why are you doing this, anyway? I never asked you to.]"

"[Hey, I'm allowed to do nice things for my buddy every now and again, aren't I?]"

"[H-Hey, I'm not complaining, or anything. I just wondered. You usually just like making fun of me.]"

She chuckled briefly and gasped. "[Oh, you're totally right! Well, don't wanna disappoint!]"

A breath caught in his throat. Oh no…

"[Well…]" she started, wrapping both arms around his neck from behind and whispering into his ear, "[I'll bet you're imagining Buneary doing these massages right now instead of me, huh?]"

He jolted. "[W-What!? No way, why would you think _that?_ ]"

Getting off him, she laughed. "[Well, you _were_ staring at her for ages just then. Speaks volumes, don't it?]"

The heat in his face returned at full force. "[What?! N-No, I didn't mean to! I was just… I mean…]"

She laughed even harder. "[Oh, so you own up to it! I was just making things up, so thanks for clarifying!]"

Groaning, Pikachu flopped to the ground. "[… No problem…]" He got up and started towards Ash and the others. He made sure to hide his bright red face at the same time. "[A-Anyway, thanks for the shoulder massage, but I'm gonna go and… hang with Ash, or something.]"

She waved at him, still snickering. "[Alright, see ya! Come see me whenever you want some more massaging! Or teasing!]"

Knowing her, he was sure she'd do both. "[Er, yeah. I'll… think about it, I'm sure,]" he replied.

Quickly glancing at Buneary, who was busy making an attempt to cheer up Buizel, the mouse sighed. Even if she did flirt with someone other than him, he got the feeling everyone would tease him, regardless. How wonderful…

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished -**

 **Old stuff:** 24/07 (July)/2016

 **New stuff:** 18/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 2,821

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** ravengal got a shiny buneary _and_ a shiny pikachu the other week. I'm so bloody jealous.

By the way, there's probably more than a little bit of me fudging things when it comes to reenacting these scenes from the anime. Just so ya know, it's most likely that I did it on purpose to give the scenes a little more of a Game-Changer flair. However, if you notice anything especially glaring, please lemmie know! I love getting critical feedback. So much so that I give it to myself on a daily basis, but that's another story.

Oh, by the by, I went back and fixed up some of the POV/dialogue in chapters 1 & 2\. Just to reflect the fact that I somehow managed to rip off an episode of Pokémon without watching or reading about it before. Specifically, a battle between Pikachu and Turtwig. Where Turtwig nommed Pikachu's tail, which was then iron'd in retaliation, just before the turtoise was zapped to death. ( **Edit:** This message is irrelevant now, seeing as I'm fixing almost all the chapters and not just that one… but it's still funny that I've managed to rip off pokémon without even trying, so whatevs, mateys)

 **Shameless promotion:** 'Ello, you guys! I'm sure you're all very aware of the awesome gal called **ravengal** , right? Well, she's recently (At the time of writing) updated her fic: **PikaBun: One-shot Wonders** , which is an awesome collection of lagomorphshipping one-shot stories. Why don't you go take a look? They have action, drama, wacky antics, and, most importantly, enough fluff to power a small boat! So go and drop her fic some fun reviews. You won't regret it~.

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** "[…After all, this is something like… the twelfth story **you've told me told.** ]"

(Yarr, quit telling me told more stories, ye scallywag!)

 **#2:** 'Oh no, **as she offended?** That did sound like an insult, after all, so…'

(Buneary has a bad habit of offending people, apparently. How dare she!)

Alrighty, thanks a bunch for reading, you guys! Don't forget to drop a review and stuff. I'd love to see what you all thought. Especially about that maid section. Oh dear… XP

Welp, tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Nights into awkwardness…_


	10. Night Terror

**Chapter 10:** _Night Terror_

* * *

Pikachu covered his mouth as he yawned, taking in the fresh, cold country air of the night. Jeez, the tiredness had just crept up on him. Unsurprising, really. It'd been an exhausting day of fighting in that tag battle competition, training _and_ helping Chimchar adjust to the team. A far cry from that day a few weeks ago, involving Buizel's Ice Aqua Jet and more of Aipom's teasing.

Turning away from the humans, who were busy setting up sleeping bags, Pikachu sighed. Speaking of female monkeys… that poor chimchar. She'd only joined earlier today, but the scars of being a part of Paul's team still lingered, it seemed.

The mouse couldn't help but empathize. After all, he'd been in a similar situation, before. No thanks to… Annabelle.

He exhaled through his nose. No. He really didn't want to think about that before bed. Besides, Chimchar's situation was far worse than his had ever been, so who was he to complain?

"[Hey… what's wrong?]" a feminine voice asked.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked up at the orange, fiery monkey herself. With a slight pause, he bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "[Oh, haha, don't mind me. It's been a heck of a day, as ya know, so I'm a bit out of it,]" he responded.

She gave him a concerned look. "[Huh… you sure? You had a pretty faraway look on you for someone who's just tired.]"

He shook his head dismissively. "[Don't sweat it. Anyway, you off to bed, too? I'm about ready to sleep like a log.]"

She gazed at him for a short while, unsure. Eventually, she just shrugged and smiled. "[Heh… to tell you the truth, I'm not all that tired.]"

His eyes widened slightly. "[Wow, really? Even after everything today?]"

"[I just… can't work up the energy to have no energy,]" she responded, chuckling awkwardly. "[Dumb, huh?]"

Putting two and two together, he smiled softly. "[Nah, not at all… I get that, too, whenever I have a lot on my mind. Sometimes, I'll even wake up and find it impossible to sleep again.]"

"[Oh, I know what'cha mean…]" She looked up at the moon. "[… Might be one of those nights for me, tonight, come to think of it.]"

Pikachu gave her a sad glance. Thinking of something, he snapped his fingers. "[Oh, hey, y'know what? Maybe if you sleep out here with me and Ash and the gang, you'll feel a bit better? Nothing's a better aphrodisiac than sleeping with your best friends, after all!]"

She blinked. Suddenly, she gave him one heck of an odd look. "[… Er, if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting… no thanks, man.]"

Pikachu jolted slightly at the look on her face. "[H-Huh? Oh… you don't like doing it out in the open, then?]"

Her face began to glow red. "[I-I… Oh, man, you're more shameless than you let on. You know that?]"

"[Huh? _Shameless?_ I… don't get it.]"

Briefly slapping a palm to her face, she shook her head. "[No, look… I'm flattered and all, but… no. Keep it in your pants.]"

His ears sprang up. "[Keep it in my-!? W-What? When did I ever suggest something like _that?_ I only suggested sleeping outside your pokéball like I do!]"

She stared at him blankly. "[… But… you said aphrodisiac…]"

"[Yeah, that's, like… another word for a sleeping aid, right?]"

She continued to stare at him blankly. After a small while, she laughed instead. "[Oh… oh, right. No, that's not what that is.]"

"[… It ain't? Oh… no...]" He took a deep breath. "[Then… what is it?]"

The fire-type's blush went slightly brighter. "[Er… well…]"

* * *

"Inside his _ball?_ " Ash exclaimed, surprised.

Jolting, Chimchar nodded quickly, startled by the outburst.

He scratched the top of his cap. "Oh, man, what's Pikachu doin' in _there?"_

Brock chuckled, arms crossed in his usual sagely manner. "Right on the night when everyone was going to sleep outside their pokéballs, too. This must be what they call irony," he said.

Ash sighed and shrugged, walking towards his bag. "Well, it ain't much of a slumber party if someone's not joinin' the party."

"Has he ever done this before?" Dawn asked, looking slightly worried.

"Not since that one mornin' in Johto…" Ash replied, kneeling down next to his bag.

Dawn looked intrigued, though Brock's face went sheepish. "Let's… not talk about that, Ash," he said, rubbing his head.

"Ahehehe, sorry…" Ash replied, also rubbing his head. He began to rummage through his bag. "Now, where'd I keep that thing, anyway? Lessie…"

Buneary eyed up the bag concernedly. Wow… when she'd been called out of her ball for a sleepover that Chimchar had suggested to the humans, she hadn't expected _this…_

She glanced around the campsite. Aipom, Pachirisu, Piplup and Chimchar were lingering around nearby. Most of the other pokémon were on a blanket a short distance away, watching out of intrigue. Something that was probably going to embarrass Pikachu some more, once he came out of his pokéball. _If_ he came out of his pokéball.

"[Jeez, what even happened to him?]" Piplup asked. "[He told me he hates being inside pokéballs, so this is a new one.]"

"[Did… something embarrass him?]" Buneary asked.

"[You… could say that,]" Chimchar responded, sweating slightly. "[In any case, I'm, er… gonna go.]" She wandered over to the blanket.

Oh, dear… that sounded about right. Nobody on the planet was as easily embarrassed as poor Pikachu. Sure made it hard to act affectionate around him, especially in public… Still, he was getting a little better about it. These days, he only freaked out a _little_ bit, when nobody else was around to see her nuzzle and compliment him. That said, she sometimes forgot about trying baby steps, and would glomp him right in full view of everyone else. So it was kind of a moot point…

"[Haha, oh, man… what embarrassed him enough for him to do _that?_ ]" Aipom asked, grinning widely. "[I can't wait to hear, lemmie tell ya!]"

"[Did he get his pecker out in public, or something?]" Pachirisu asked curiously.

Buneary began to blush. "[ _Pachirsuuuu!_ ]"

"[What kind of shameless flipping statement is _that!?_ ]" Piplup exclaimed, cringing.

"[What? He might've done!]" the squirrel argued.

Aipom burst into laughter. "[Oh, lord… maybe.]" She tapped Buneary on the arm with her hand thing. "[If that's it, I guess he must've been thinking about _you_ too hard, huh?]"

A quick shiver went up Buneary's spine. "[Oh, don't go putting that image in my head, ya cheeky monkey…]"

The monkey smirked. "[Why not? Are we gonna catch you in 'the act', too?]"

Buneary used her paws to puff out the fluff on her waist. "[N-No! Don't say silly things like that!]" Some sweat went down the side of her head. "[… Especially if Pikachu's listening.]"

"Aha, found it!" Ash called out triumphantly, holding a pokéball up in the air above his head. Noticeably, the ball had a thunderbolt logo on it. It was also shaking pretty hard. So much so that Ash almost dropped it. "Alright, never thought I'd say it, but…" He threw it upwards. "Pikachu, come on out!"

At once, a white light shot out from the ball. As it took form, however, Buneary got confused. Since when did Ash own a shiny pikachu? One that liked to curl up into a fetal position while hugging his tail?

… Oh. Wait. Upon seeing the mouse's handsome face scrunched up in a heavy grimace, she realized who he was. Ohhhh, dear…

"[… Yeah, I'm calling it. He showed off his tackle,]" Pachirisu said.

"[Oh, put a cap on it, Pachirisu,]" Piplup retorted, looking exasperated. "[If he hears you saying stuff like that, we'll never see him again.]"

"[Aww, even if I'm right?]" the squirrel asked, smirking lightly.

The penguin rubbed the side of his head awkwardly. "[… _Especially_ if you're right.]"

Aipom couldn't stop giggling to herself at the whole thing.

Noticing that, Buneary rolled her eyes. "[Hey, don't you say anything, either. You hear me?]" she warned.

"[Oh, we'll see!]" the monkey responded. "[This is some premium, grade A teasing fuel.]"

"[I don't care! You'll upset him.]"

Aipom tilted her head. "[Upset him? Pfft, no way. He likes it really!]"

Buneary continually tapped her on the head harshly with an ear. "[Not as much as I'll like practicing my Dizzy Punch on ya if you give him a hard time!]"

The monkey held her paws up to block her face. "[Ah, you're such a nag!]" She put her paws to her hips as Buneary stopped tapping her. "[Alright, fine, I won't. Not tonight, anyway.]"

Buneary smiled faintly."[Okay, thanks…]" She turned to face the mouse in question. He was currently being comforted by Ash, who was trying to coax him out of shuddering.

The bunny sighed. Poor Pikachu… she'd have to make sure that he didn't end up having a rough night.

…

… She had to admit that he looked _hella_ cute hugging his tail like that, though. Man, when the guy wasn't being a sexy tough nut, he was _such_ a little darling, instead! She secretly hoped to see more of this side from him in the future. Maybe perhaps without all the shuddering, anyway. That… wasn't quite so bueno.

* * *

Stumbling forwards on all four of his still shaky paws, face wet from dipping it into a nearby lake, Pikachu sighed. Why did these things always happen to him? One of these days, he was going to curl into an embarrassed ball so hard that he'd implode, he swore…

Currently, with a small level of difficulty, he was making his way through the forest, back to the campsite. He hadn't been gone long, just long enough to freshen up, but he had the feeling most of his friends would be attempting to sleep by now.

He wondered if he'd have such an easy time sleeping after tonight's shenanigans. Aphrodisiac… Ughh, stupid word. Why had he thought that it was another way of describing sleeping aids? Were there any other secretly embarrassing words like that in his vocabulary? He'd have to hijack a dictionary to find out, or something.

Wait… no, he remembered where he'd heard that word, now. That one time he'd come across his parents, who'd been cuddling up next to each other somewhere away from the burrow he'd shared with them. It'd been night time, and his mom had been using her healing move to light up some cheri berries, calling it a 'natural aphrodisiac'.

Come to think of it, they'd quickly sent him back to the burrow shortly after, upon noticing him in the area. At the time, he'd only assumed that they'd been doing one of their many 'sleeping under the stars' nights, but… Wait…

… He turned on his heel and moved back towards the lake to cool his now burning face.

* * *

After a few minutes or so, Pikachu finally made his way back to the campsite. As he'd suspected, most of his pokémon friends already looked settled, if not asleep. Not that he was complaining, really. After the stunt he'd pulled earlier, he appreciated the lack of attention.

He considered resting next to the humans, who were asleep in their sleeping bags nearby. He decided against it, though. He didn't want to be a bad sport about everyone's first sleepover, just because of his brainless comment. Plus, he didn't want to be a prime suspect of causing that bed hair Dawn was currently rocking.

Walking up to the notably pink blanket, he looked around to find somewhere good to lie down. His ears dipped lower and lower, however, as it became more apparent that everywhere on the blanket was full. Oh, man… he hadn't taken _that_ long, had he?

The middle of the blanket was occupied by Sudowoodo. On the bottom half were Staravia, Piplup, Happiny, Pachirisu, Aipom and Sudowoodo's leafy arm. The top half had Buizel, Turtwig, Croagunk - who took up most of the blanket with his sloppy sleeping - and Chimchar.

Eyeing up Chimchar, he noticed a free space near her. She seemed to be stirring a lot in her sleep, but he was sure she wouldn't mind a bed buddy.

Then again… after that aphrodisiac comment… and if she woke up right next to him…

Pikachu's face went warm again. Alright, nope, screw that. No, there had to be somewhere else to sleep. He slowly walked along the bottom of the blanket, investigating closely. If this didn't work out, then it was the grass for him, he supposed. Not the worst fate in the world, but morning dew in his face was always annoying. A common problem, considering he liked to sleep on his front.

Walking past Pachirisu - whose tail was held close - he heard some mumbling coming from the squirrel. "[Heyyy… lemmie ride on… yer tail, again… big sib…]" the squirrel mumbled. "[If ya lemmie, I'll steal ya those… dumb pink poffins ya… like-sho-mussh…]" Pachirisu went back to snoring lightly.

Pikachu tilted his head. Wow… the squirrel sure was good at talking while sleeping. And who was this 'big sib' person? Whoever they were, it seemed they must've liked pink poffins more than Pachirisu, at any rate. Not that it was saying much. The squirrel hated them.

Shrugging to himself, he continued onwards. Next to the squirrel, Aipom seemed to be in the midst of sleep.

He huffed. It wasn't like he could sleep here anyway, thanks to Sudowoodo's massive leaf-covered hand, but… A shiver went up his spine at the prospect of sleeping next to the monkey. What kind of teasing horrors would await him if he did?

Before he could edge away, he heard her mumble something in her sleep while nibbling on her paw. She looked surprisingly cutesy as a result, especially with that usual grin plastered on her otherwise peaceful face.

He exhaled through his nose. Nah… he was being harsh about calling her a teasing horror. When she wasn't ribbing on him for things, she could be a pretty cool friend. That is, whenever Buneary wasn't around, too… thus providing the monkey with premium, grade A teasing fuel.

Speaking of the rabbit, just where the heck _was_ she? She wasn't anywhere on the blanket…

All of a sudden, Sudowoodo pulled his hand away and rested it on his stomach. Thanks to that, Pikachu had a space he could sleep on! However, before he could get too excited, he noticed someone right on the edge of the blanket, who'd previously been hidden away. His heart skipped a beat as he realized who it was.

Oh, great… so he had to sleep in-between Buneary, and the girl who liked to tease him for being around Buneary, did he? He sighed. Of course…

Before he could do much else, he saw the rabbit stir slightly. Shortly after, she groggily opened her eyes, incidentally locking gazes with him while laid on her front.

"[Oh… hey, Pikachu,]" she said with a yawn. "[I was wondering where you were… hiding that handsome face of yours.]"

Stiffening slightly, he quickly glanced at Aipom. She didn't react to the comment, so he relaxed. "[Oh, er… eheh, sorry. I was just cooling off after the… um, incident.]"

"[Ah… alrighty.]" Buneary yawned again. "[Mmm… what even happened, anyway?]"

"[Er… I don't really wanna talk about it,]" he replied, twiddling his fingers.

"[Aww… okay.]" She uncurled her ear to scratch behind it. "[… Still thinking of sleeping with us?]" she asked, her voice noticeably quieter.

He nodded. "[Mhmm. No idea where, though,]" he mumbled gently, remembering her sensitive hearing. "[There's no room at the inn, as it were.]"

Ear curled again, she looked apologetic. "[Ah, shame.]" Her eyes widened as a smile grew on her lips. "[Oh, hey, y'know what? Why not sleep with _me?_ ]"

Sweating profusely, he quickly waved both of his paws in front of him. "[H-Hey, don't phrase it like that so loudly, Bun…!]"

She jolted. "[O-Oh! S-Sorry.]"

Confirming that nobody - Aipom especially - had awoken and gone into teasing mode, he sighed. "[That's okay. Umm…]" He weighed his options. Normally, he wouldn't mind the idea, but… he had the feeling everyone would inevitably make jokes about them sleeping together like a couple, or whatever. The idea displeased him, for obvious reasons.

He must've been frowning, because he noticed a concerned look on her face as she gazed at him. "[Oh… don't like the idea?]" she asked, sounding saddened.

He didn't know why, but her disappointment struck a slight chord with him. "[… No, it's a… pretty good idea. So why not?]" he replied with a pleasant look.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "[Wow, really? You will?]"

He moved into position and flopped down beside her, lying on his front. "['Course! Thanks, Bun.]"

"[Oh, um… no problem!]" she replied, sounding gleeful. "[Anytime.]"

"[Cool…]" He yawned and let his eyes droop. "[Well… nighty night, Bun.]"

"[Um, g-g'night, Pika,]" she replied, shuffling a little closer. Most likely for warmth, considering that she was shaking ever so slightly.

As her fluff brushed against his fur, he instinctively considered edging away… but he didn't want to bump into Aipom and wake her up, so he stayed put. Besides, the rabbit's soft, if not a little rough, wooly fluff felt nice against his fur. So he secretly welcomed it.

The minutes went by, with the mouse's consciousness drifting further and further away with each second. The rhythmic sounds of breathing around him and the gentle noises of the forest at night helped him along even more. Soon, he felt everything in the world slip away. Everything except for that cozy blanket of fluff, which warmed him to the skin.

Lucky rabbit. He wished he could have that feeling all the time…

Soon, he felt something wrap around his waist. His mind was too far gone for him to shake it off, however, so he just frowned slightly, instead. Whatever it was, it could wait until morning…

* * *

Buneary couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. Heck, it was hard to stop herself from shaking in excitement. She couldn't believe it! Pikachu wanted to sleep next to her! Did this mean he was starting to accept her?

Her smile grew wider. If so, things were looking up! She'd had some doubts for the longest time, what with him being as bashful as he was. Especially around her. But this was a promising sign, no doubt!

Unable to contain herself, she nuzzled closer. Shivers travelled up her spine and throughout her body as she felt his warm, furry body against hers.

As the seconds passed, her eyes widened. Oh, man, what was she even doing!? He wasn't gonna take any of this affection well at all, was he? That was how it usually went, after all. She would get a little… giddy, and nuzzle him, only for him to shudder a crater into the ground. He was always quick to reassure her that she wasn't creeping him out, but… she always wondered.

Peering at him from the corner of her eye, she didn't notice any signs of him not liking it. In fact, she almost swore she could see those cute lips of his bending into a smile.

Her quickly beating heart went faster still. Yeah… it was too soon to know for certain, but… this plan was going to work, she just knew it.

The minutes ticked on, with Buneary lapping up every second. As much as she wanted this to go on forever… her consciousness wouldn't allow it. Excitement was quickly being replaced with drowsiness. She could barely bring up the energy to think straight anymore.

Feeling her mind take the final plunge for the night, she nuzzled closer, and even closer still. Oh well, maybe she could continue this in her dreams. Perhaps with a huggle or two. A big huggle, at that. Maybe even right now. A big… massive… hug…

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED~**

* * *

 **Finished -**

 **1st quarter:** 24/07 (July)/2016

 **Everything else:** 18/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 3,321

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** In Alpha Sapphire, ravengal got a shiny buneary _and_ a shiny pikachu the other week (at the time of writing). I'm so bloody jealous.

By the way, there's probably more than a little bit of me fudging things when it comes to reenacting these scenes from the anime. Just so ya know, it's most likely that I did it on purpose to give the scenes a little more of a Game-Changer flair. However, if you notice anything especially glaring, please lemmie know! I love getting critical feedback. So much so that I give it to myself on a daily basis, but that's another story.

Oh, by the by, I went back and fixed up some of the POV/dialogue in chapters 1 & 2\. Just to reflect the fact that I somehow managed to rip off an episode of Pokémon without watching or reading about it before. Specifically, a battle between Pikachu and Turtwig. Where Turtwig nommed Pikachu's tail, which was then iron'd in retaliation, just before the turtoise was zapped to death.

 **Shameless promotion:** MewLover54 made a new fic, recently! A Snivy x Oshawott one called **Nerves**! It features Snivy and Oshawott, who're chilling in Oak's place during Ash's visit to Alola. Oshawott's up to his usual antics of flirting with everything he sees, and the sight makes Snivy more annoyed than usual! Could it be… a crush? Emolga certainly thinks so, as she sasses the snake into the ground.

It's quite cute and charming! And there's plenty of friendship and romance to be seen, as well as funny antics! Honestly, it's my favorite shellpwnageshipping fic, so I'd recommend it wholeheartedly! If only for awkwardness that would put this fic to shame. XP

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** 'Next to the squirrel, Aipom seemed **to be the midst of sleep.** '

(Aipom has become the personification of sleep! Now Pikachu will never go for a nap again!)

 **#2:** 'Pikachu exhaled through his slowly.' 

(That's an interesting place to breath from, but okay.)

 **#3: '** Oh, great… so he had to sleep in between Buneary the girl who liked to tease him for being around Buneary.'

(Even Buneary likes to make fun of him for their shipping potential, now. There's truly no escape for the mouse, is there?)

 **#4: '** "[… No, it's a… pretty good idea, so why not?]" he replied with a **small.'**

(A small? A small what? … Do I really wanna know?)

 **#5:** 'She would get a little… giddy, and nuzzle him, only for him to shudder a **creator** into the ground.'

Alrighty, thanks a bunch for reading, you guys! Don't forget, if you're a longtime reader and you wanna review, drop one in the later chapters, or drop one as a guest. I'd love to see what you all thought. XP

Welp, tatty bye! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Big brotherly instinct_


	11. Dream Date

**Chapter 11:** _Dream Date_

* * *

 _Pikachu breathed in as deeply as his nose would allow. At once, hundreds of delightful flowery scents greeted him, soothing his soul. Oh, he loved it whenever he got a chance to visit flower fields. Especially one as humongous as this. He couldn't even see where it ended!_

 _"[What're ya doin' there, Pikachu?]" Eevee asked from beside him, her head cocked._

 _"[Maybe he's… keeping a nose out for danger,]" Squirtle replied from next to her, glancing around nervously. "[I don't blame him. A-Anything could be hiding in these beautiful flowers…]"_

 _Pikachu gave both of May's young pokémon a sheepish glance. "[Um, nah, nothing like that. I'm just… er…]" he started._

 _"[He's enjoying all the flowers, obviously!]" Happiny interjected, smiling. "[He loves girly things like flower fields! That's what that aipom said, anyway.]"_

 _He jolted. "[H-Hey, no way! I'm just… you know…]"_

 _The pink egg pokémon looked incredulous. "[But you **just** breathed in deeply to smell the flowers!]"_

 _Eevee gave Pikachu a curious glance. "[Yeah… that's something interesting. Why'd you do that?]"_

 _He began to sweat. "[Well… while I'm here babysitting you guys, I may as well enjoy myself… right?]" he said, grinning sheepishly._

 _"[Didn't **you** wanna bring us over here to Cherrygrove, though?]" she asked._

 _"[I'm not a baby…]" Squirtle mumbled, sounding saddened._

 _Pikachu tapped his fingers together. "[… Um, I thought you guys might like it here.]" He looked in Squirtle's direction. "[… While I **kid** sat all of you.]"_

 _Eevee seemed satisfied by his answer, and Squirtle seemed happier because of it, too. Seeing that, the mouse breathed a sigh of relief._

 _Happiny giggled. As she began to say something, however, the pebble in her pouch started wobbling. Soon after, it jumped out onto the flowery space next to Pikachu while growing arms and feet._

 _Pikachu clicked his tongue. "[Now, Togepi… I told you not to hide in there…]"_

 _"[Sorry, uncle,]" Togepi replied, now fully formed into the spiky-headed ball of joy he knew so well. "[I just wanted to hide with eggy sis.]"_

 _"[Yeah! Me and him get on like eggs and bacon!]" Happiny chimed._

 _… Pikachu didn't know what to make of that statement, so he just shrugged awkwardly. "[Er… well, alright, then,]" he replied._

 _"[What's a bacon?]" Eevee asked, head tilted._

 _"[Oh, it's a… food that cows can make.]"_

 _Her head tilted the other way. "[What's a cow?]"_

 _He scratched the side of his head. "[It's a… thing that pokémon aren't. Except for miltank. That's a cow.]"_

 _Her head corrected itself, an interested expression on her face. "[Ohhh, I get it. Like the thing that Togepi is riding on.]"_

 _"[Yup!]" He blinked. "[… Wait, what?]"_

 _She stood on her hind legs and pointed towards the sky. "[Up there!]"_

 _His gaze followed her finger upwards. He gasped once he saw the egg pokémon in question riding on top of a giant cow, which was wearing a caterpie mask._

 _"[ **Wheeeee, danger~!** ]" Togepi sang, a beaming smile on his lips._

 _"[No, Togepi, not again!]" Pikachu yelled. "[Get off that cowterpie right now!]"_

 _Togepi ignored him and continued riding on the giant non-pokémon. He groaned in response. Every time…_

 _"[Cowterpie?]" Eevee asked, giggling. "[Was that a pun just then? A super corny one?]"_

 _"[… Ash started it,]" Pikachu retorted, face warming slightly._

 _"[That explains it. His puns are terrible…]" Happiny grumbled._

 _"[… Yeah. You're not wrong,]" he agreed. He yelped as something pushed against his side. Looking over, he saw Squirtle crying into his shoulder._

 _"[Oh nooo! What if Togepi falls and gets h-hurt?]" the turtle wailed._

 _Pikachu comfortingly pat him on the shoulder. "[H-Hey, don't worry about it.]" He bent down to pluck a pink daisy. Standing again, he gave it to the turtle. "[Here you go, kiddo. Your favorite!]"_

 _Wiping his eyes, he accepted it with a small smile. "[Th-Thanks…]" he said, putting it on his head._

 _Returning the smile with a nod, he looked back up at Togepi with a concerned frown. "[Anyways, don't move, Togepi! I'll be right there!]" He turned to Happiny. "[Happiny, help me out!]"_

 _She nodded. "[Oh, 'course!]" She moved over to grab him by the feet. Heaving, she flung him upwards, towards the cow. "[ **Timbeeeeer!** ]"_

 _Sailing through the air, he looked back and gave her a thumbs up. Focusing ahead again, he did a few forward flips before landing, rolling across the huge cow while his momentum slowed. Once at a standstill, he ran towards Togepi, who was cheering happily while riding on its head._

 _Stopping next to him, he put his paws on his hips. "[What did I tell you about running towards danger, kid?]"_

 _"[Aww, but danger's fun, though…]" Togepi complained._

 _Sighing, Pikachu began to scold him. He stopped in his tracks as something crossed his mind. "[Wait... I thought you evolved-]"_

 _A flash of lightning engulfed Togepi. As it went away, the egg pokémon had transformed back into a togetic. "[Sorry, uncle!]"_

 _Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. "[Alright, that's okay…]" He gave him a stern look. "[Anyways, yeah, you've gotta stop, or you might get hurt one da-]"_

 _Some screams pierced through the air. A breath catching in his throat, he ran to the side of the cow on all fours and peered down. "[Guys, what's going on… down… **Huh!?** ]"_

 _Below, some dark, otherworldly force was dragging his friends downwards through the flowers. All of them hysterically screamed his name as their bodies began to sink beneath the surface._

 _His heart stopped dead in his chest. Frowning, he ran towards them on all fours, across the flowers. "[ **Hold on, I'm coming!** ]" He quickened the pace as much as his legs would allow. However, fast as he was, he was running out of time. Only their arms and heads were poking out of the flowers currently, and he was nowhere near them._

 _He lunged at them, grabbing for their outstretched limbs. He quickly crashed into the flowers, though he kept sliding along on his stomach the entire time. Just as he reached them, his fingers missed them, grasping nothing. Pushing himself off the ground and looking up, his vision met Eevee's terrified face. She, Squirtle, Togetic and Happiny all disappeared into the flowers afterwards._

 _Blood running cold, Pikachu dug into the ground. He kept digging, even as dirt coated his body, and red splotches covered his stinging paws. Stopping to take a breath, his heart sank. He'd barely made a dent in the floor._

 _He collapsed to the ground, vision blurring with tears. No… he was supposed to look after them, and he'd… failed._

 _… What kind of big brother figure could he call himself?_

 ** _"Don't worry…"_** _a wispy voice from behind started._

 _Ears pricking, he slowly turned around with bated breath. He shrieked, fur standing on end. In front of him were three, giant figures cast in shadow._

 ** _"You'll be joinin' 'em!"_** _the smaller figure shouted in a harsh, raspy voice._

 _The larger ones produced a cage of dark energy and rapidly shambled closer. Limbs moving in unnatural ways._

 _Whimpering, Pikachu turned tail and ran. He kept on running, even as the skies grew dark and the flowers withered and died. Trying not to choke out a sob, he ran even harder when he saw the opening to his burrow in the distance. The one thing that could keep him safe._

 _Darkness enveloped him. He suddenly couldn't breathe. He was drowning on the darkness. He was so scared, he couldn't think._

 _Then everything went black._

* * *

Pikachu's eyes flew open. Panting as sweat poured down his face, he frantically glanced around. He saw a darkened forest in front of him, but no Ash, like there usually was. Taking a shaky breath, he looked to his side. Seeing figures immediately next to him, he paused, eyes widened in shock. Once his eyes adapted to the darkness, relief washed over him. He saw Aipom and Pachirisu, who were sleeping peacefully.

Their company helped his pounding heart to calm down. Once calm enough, he grew confused. Why was everyone sleeping out here, next to him? He tried to remember what had happened before he'd gone to sleep. Some kind of… slumber party to cheer someone up, right? Yeah, he remembered now. It was one for Chimchar, to help ease her into the team.

… His face flushed slightly as he remembered the incident earlier in the night. The one involving her, and… what he'd said. Ugh… Despite the cold air against his face - made more soothing by the sweat covering him - he still felt his cheeks heat up. Still, it was an admittedly nice change to being terrified…

Oddly, he felt like he had something warm and fluffy draped over his side. Did he have a blanket over him, or something? It was cozy, so he relaxed into it, though he couldn't bring himself to close his eyes. He didn't want to have that freaking dream again… Regardless, he was glad to have something wrapped around him. He may have freaked out a little more without it.

He sighed. Usually, after having a bad dream, he would snuggle into Ash's arms until he felt better. He didn't want everyone to wake up to him choosing to be cuddled by his trainer, instead of sleeping with them, however. He knew they'd throw some teasing his way if he did… so that was totally off the table.

Exhaling softly, he chose to glance around at the scenery to occupy his mind. After a while, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Something orange and glowing. He followed it with his eyes for a while. That is, until he caught a glimpse of his 'blanket'.

He jolted. Why was he sleeping next to flipping _Buneary?_ And… was she flipping _hugging_ him!?

Face fully flushed, he quickly edged away. That is, until his memories caught up with him. Oh, yeah… he'd agreed to sleep next to her because there'd been no spaces on the blanket, hadn't he? He remembered finding her fluff growing warmer and more comfortable just before he'd drifted off. Had that been her edging closer? Or had _he_ been the one getting closer to _her?_ Either way, his face stayed warm. Oh, everyone was going to _love_ this, once they woke up to see it…

He began moving in an attempt to escape the hug. He didn't think too much of her actions, seeing as she'd most likely done it in her sleep if it _had_ been her… but, with Aipom sleeping right next to them, this was for the best.

Just as her paw was on the edge of falling off him, a flash of the nightmare went across his mind. The part with the horrible figures coming for him. It made him shiver, especially with the dark forest surrounding him. The dark forest where anything could jump out at a moment's notice and get him.

Squeaking, he rolled back into Buneary's embrace, in a position where he now faced Aipom. His feeling of fear dulled again, but he felt more embarrassed than before. Good lord, he was pathetic…

… Well, he had to look on the bright side. At least the others weren't awake to make fun of him. Plus, he was certain Buneary would stop her hugging before they could wake up. With that in mind, he tried to relax.

As the minutes rolled by, he found himself still unwilling to sleep, or even close his eyes. So, naturally, he let his mind wander some more. His favorite pastime…

Staring off into the starry night sky, he remembered the bizarre opening to his dream. The one involving the kids. Man… how long had it been since he'd seen any of them? He hoped they were doing alright. More alright than the ones in his dream were doing, anyway. Was Togetic okay in his weird magical friendship dimension? Was Eevee still as bright-eyed and curious as ever? Did Squirtle still share Pikachu's appreciation of flowers? Did Happiny still-? … Wait, no, she was sleeping a few spaces away. He knew exactly how she was doing. Well, that was _one_ mystery cleared up, at least…

It was weird how a cow had showed up in his dream. He'd never even seen one in real life, before. Not counting miltanks or tauros, or whatever. Or the costume Ash had in his bag. Wait… cows _were_ the animals that people made bacon from, right? Or was it sheep? He honestly didn't know…

"[Mhmmm… tomato…]" Buneary muttered suddenly, surprising him. She then nibbled on the end of his ear.

Stiffening, he felt his face immediately light up like a firework. As she continued lightly chewing, he sighed. Yet again, he was glad everyone was asleep. This would just be another excuse for everyone to make jokes about them dating, just to embarrass him.

… Man, the topic of girlfriends had never crossed his mind so much in his entire life, up until he came to this region. Not that it changed much. He still found it far too awkward to explore, not that there really was anything _to_ explore. Buneary was just affectionate and nothing else.

He huffed. Part of him honestly wished he still had the optimism about romance he used to have, back in the day. No chance of that anymore, though, it seemed.

He couldn't lie, though. While he was way too… nervous about attempting anything romantic nowadays, he had often wondered what it would be like to be in a relationship. Once it got past the torturously awkward side, would it be… fun?

Feeling Buneary stop nibbling his ear to nuzzle into him again, he decided to daydream about having one. If nothing else, thinking of something fluffy was a sure way to force out the horrible nightmare.

He let his mind wander…

* * *

 _Pikachu imagined himself inside a large hot spring, with hundreds of flowers surrounding the rim. A short distance away, he could see some pink cherry blossom trees. They let off a constant stream of pink petals, that flowed on the breeze._

 _It was a delightful sight, though it was nowhere near as delightful as that of his girlfriend, called…_

 _…_

 _… Errr, who was his girlfriend again?_

 _He scratched his head in thought. Drat, he hadn't thought that far ahead. Umm… well, he wanted to avoid having it be anyone he knew, so… how about a female pikachu? One with a pretty name, like… Poppy. Yeah, that could work._

 _Anyway, the sights were nowhere near as pretty as his girlfriend, Poppy, who was currently sitting next to him and flashing him a very pleasant smile._

 _"[So...]" Pikachu began, "[… er, how are you?]"_

 _She giggled. "[Fine, thank you~]" she replied, her voice sounding very bubbly. "[How about you~?]"_

 _"[I'm fine, too, thanks! Eheh…]"_

 _Her smile grew wider. "[That's happy~]"_

 _"[Yeah,]" he replied with an awkward chuckle. "[Sure is.]"_

 _She giggled again before going back to lounging._

 _… With that riveting conversation out of the way, he went back to enjoying the warm water. Dang it, he had no idea at all what couples said to each other._

 _He contemplated showering her with cheesy compliments, much like Brock would. However, he immediately decided against it. He was warm enough as it was in the imaginary hot spring, so he didn't need to have burning cheeks, too._

 _Still, maybe a few little compliments wouldn't hurt. "[So, er…]" he started, catching… um, Petunia's attention, "[you're… pretty.]"_

 _She giggled. "[Aww, thank you~. And you're handsome~]"_

 _"[Eheh… u-um, thanks…]"_

 _"[You have the nicest stripes… and the jaggiest tail… and the brightest cheeks~]"_

 _His face warmed even more. Oh, Arceus, his own imagination was starting to fluster him now. "[O-Oh, well, th-thank you.]"_

 _Her smile grew even wider. "[D'aww, you're just so cute, it's unbearable~]"_

 _Pikachu twiddled his fingers shyly. "[W-Well… you, too.]"_

 _"[Hm? How so~?]"_

 _"[Umm… well… I dunno…]" Oh man, what could he even compliment her on? After all, they basically looked the same. Maybe save for the tip of her tail, which he assumed was heart-shaped. "[You… have… nice ears.]"_

 _"[Ooh, you think so?]"_

 _"[Certainly! They'd easily give mine a run for their money.]"_

 _She blushed. "[Aww, thanks~]"_

 _"[And… I really like your fur, too. It's so bright, and lush, and, er… s-stuff. Y'know?]"_

 _Petunia's smile somehow grew wider. "[Ahaha, okay then! In that case, would you like to… feel it?]"_

 _His eyes widened slightly. "[O-Oh, well… are you sure?]"_

 _She nodded. "[Certainly~]"_

 _He paused. "[… Oh, well… alright then, sure.]" He slowly reached forward and lightly stroked her arm. It felt so velvety-smooth, like a luscious carpet, or something. "[Hm. It's really nice!]"_

 _"[Thanks! That ain't all, though.]"_

 _Before he could question her, she placed her paw upon his. Then she gently guided it down lower, going under the water, towards her thigh._

 _He almost yanked his paw away in surprise. He stopped, however, as his fingers brushed against something that felt wooly. It was so light and fluffy, though also thick and strong. It was very pleasant…_

 _Shaking his head, he snapped his paw away. "[A-Ah, um, s-sorry.]"_

 _She gave him a reassuring look. "[Ahaha, no need to be afraid, Pika. I ain't gonna bite~]"_

 _With a pause, he nodded slowly. "[Y-Yeah, I guess so… Sorry, I'm just… y'know…]"_

 _She made an amused noise. "[You silly goose~]"_

 _"[Eheh, yeah… I can be, I guess…]" he replied, looking away from her to stare ahead again, towards the cherry blossoms. That'd been… awkward. Still, admittedly, it had also been pleasant. He was starting to see why people were into dating. If nothing else, it was a little ego-boosting at times. Plus, it had a nice way of making his heart… race. It was exciting, in a strange way._

 _His eyes fell upon the flowers in the distance, suddenly giving him an idea. Reaching behind himself, he plucked a pink lily. Then, turning to face her, he offered it to her. "[Here you go… er, Posey. A flower for you!]"_

 _She held a paw to her cheek in wonderment. She then took it and placed it behind her large ear. "[Ahaha, d'aww, thank you~! You're so sweet…]"_

 _He chuckled shyly. "[Thanks…]"_

 _She giggled heavily again. However, he paused as he suddenly realized that her laughter sounded awfully familiar…_

 _… Oh, good lord, he was starting to get suspicious of his own imagination. He really was going mad._

 _Shaking his head, he tried to think of something else to say to his date. More compliments, maybe? He was starting to feel a little like Brock, as he'd feared, but it was better than nothing. "[Er… you have nice eyebrows,]" he praised._

 _"[Oh, you like 'em?]" she asked, seeming slightly starry-eyed._

 _"[Certainly. They suit ya!]"_

 _Blushing, she wiggled them. "[Ahah, cool~]"_

 _"[Wish I had some like yours, honest… ly?]" Wait a second, what was he even talking about? They were both the same species, so why would she have-_

 _… Oh no. He wasn't, was he? He wasn't seriously daydreaming about…_

 _Rubbing his eyes, he looked at his date again to see- "[ **Aaaack!** Buneary, what the heck are you doing here!?]" he screamed._

 _Out of nowhere, his date had suddenly been replaced with the rabbit in question. What in flipping heck's name!?_

 _She gave him a slightly confused gaze. "[Hm? I'm your girlfriend, silly~]" she replied, continuing to give him a wide smile._

 _"[W-What? H-How…?]"_

 _"[Don't you remember? We became lovers after you saved me from that evil ninetales.]"_

 _"[I-I didn't… W-When did I…?]" he stammered, finding himself at a loss for words. Especially as his cheeks began to heat up, and his insides felt like they were twisting in all sorts of different directions._

 _She clicked her tongue, giving him an amused look. "[You're such a kidder~]"_

 _Big ripples began to form on the water because of the shuddering he was doing. Oh, lord, how embarrassing. What would his friends say if they saw him daydreaming about dating her? Oh lord, and what would **she** say if she found out!? He was being such a creeper right now._

 _She giggled again with her trademark laughter before edging closer, coming shoulder to shoulder with him. "[Y'know… we should try making this date… **extra** special.]"_

 _He instinctively edged away, now feeling many steps above awkward. "[Er, h-how so… d-dare I ask?]"_

 _Her eyes became half-lidded. "[Oh, I think you know how…~]"_

 _He could feel his eyes going as wide as dinner plates. "[B-B-B-But..!]" He gasped loudly as he felt a paw slowly rubbing his leg in a disturbing manner._

 _Before he could do anything, Buneary's face was mere inches away from his. Shortly after, it got to the point where he could feel her warm breath on his fur, and her nose against his._

 _"[… Make me yours…]" she whispered, a very longing look on her face._

 _His brain was completely devoid of what he could say, or do. Before he could even stutter anything out, he felt her warm lips press against his._

* * *

Pikachu yelped loudly as his eyes snapped open. Senses kicking in, he immediately felt sweat pouring down his heated face like a waterfall. Good… _freaking_ lord, what had that all been about!? Had he really just daydreamed that? Or… had he actually gone back to sleep sometime while fantasizing? He hoped so…

… 'Fantasizing'. Oh, what a creepy thing to say. It was almost like he was saying that he'd _enjoyed_ the dream, or something. N-Not that he had, of course! He'd only had the dream because his mind had been messed about by all of the constant teasing and accusations about Buneary. It was nothing more than that at all!

Rubbing his eyes, he groaned lightly as his paw brushed against her arm. Oh yeah… it probably didn't help that she was hugging him, either. Tsk… anyone who could see them right now, especially if they could read his mind, would laugh their butts off at him. And he didn't even want to think about how Buneary would react. Shock? Horror? Amusement? Who even knew…

He took a deep, calming breath as he stopped rubbing his eyes. Glancing ahead, his mind screeched to a halt as two green eyes stared directly back into his. Two green eyes belonging to the purple monkey next to him.

"[Gah, Aipom!]" he yelped loudly in surprise.

"[Heh, that's my name!]" she replied in a hushed voice, grinning lightly.

Taking a deep breath, he copied her hushed voice. "[W-What're you…? Um…]" He pushed Buneary's paw off him. "[… What're you doing being up? Eheh…]" Buneary's paw immediately slid over his side again. The sheepish look on his face began to stretch.

The monkey chuckled lightly. "[Not much. Some weird noises woke me up earlier. Like someone woke up from their nightmare while screeching, or something,]" she explained, looking more and more neutral as she spoke. "[Thought I'd go back to sleeping, but here's you waking up from another one, so… um…]" Her look turned concerned. "[You alright, buddy?]"

He could only stare. "[… I… I-I guess so. I, er… did have a bad dream, I guess.]" He tilted his head. "[Um, I don't know what you mean by 'another one', though…]"

She raised an eyebrow. "[Huh? Really? Could've sworn I'd heard some girly wake-up scream earlier. Sure it wasn't you?]"

He felt his cheeks warm slightly. "[H-Heyyy, what's that supposed to mean?]"

She chuckled, her signature grin returning. "[You tell me, girly boy~]"

He huffed and pouted. If he weren't busy being huggled from behind, he would've crossed his arms, too. Tsk, it was like being in Kanto's Battle Frontier all over again...

Still, a wake-up scream, though? When he'd woken up earlier, he hadn't made a peep, despite how terrified he'd been. Had someone else had a nightmare, or something…?

"[Anyway, whatever,]" she continued, going back to looking somewhat worried. "[Even if the earlier one wasn't yours, you still had a nightmare right now, didn't ya?]"

He blinked. "[… Yes.]"

"[Aww…]" Her tail's hand moved over to give him a comforting rub on the side of his head. "[Wanna talk about it?]"

He paused, unsure. After a short while, he nodded. "[Sure, I guess. Well…]"

For the next few minutes, he quietly described the first half of his earlier nightmare to her. Naturally, he made sure to leave out anything involving the flowers, but he left in everything else. Including his friends and the random giant cow. She giggled several times while he continued, though the teasing was pretty light, surprisingly.

As he finished on the part where Togepi had randomly evolved, she laughed again. "[Man, I love how you didn't notice anything was wrong that entire time. Even with that giant cow walking about.]"

He chuckled along with her. "[Well, anything can happen in a dream, right?]"

"[You ain't wrong, there.]" She scratched her head with her tail's hand. "[Wait… didn't you say bacon came from cows in your dream?]"

"[Yeah?]"

"[You don't… _actually_ think that, do you?]"

"[Well, it's either that or sheep, I think.]"

She laughed again. "[Oh, you dum-dum. It's _pigs_ for bacon.]"

His eyes widened."[R-Really?]"

"[Yup. Cows give you steak, and beef, and burgers and stuff. And heck only knows about sheep, but it's certainly not bacon.]"

"[Oh…]" His ears dipped, though not without a smile on his lips. "[Dang. Everything I know in life is a lie now. I can never trust bacon again!]"

She smirked. "[You drama-queen.]"

He huffed in amusement. "[Heyy…]"

She cocked her head. "[Y'know, all that said, I'm not seeing the nightmare, here. You have moophobia, or something?]"

Huffing amusedly again, he exhaled slowly. "[Nope. That was just the first half. The second half… well…]"

He continued with his story, telling her about how the kids had been absorbed into the ground, and how he'd failed to save them. Along with everything else that had happened afterwards.

As he finished, a sympathetic look overcame her. "[Jeez… that was rough. No kidding you woke up after that,]" she said.

"[Eheh, yeah… no kidding, indeed.]" His eyes trailed off to the side. "[I think the worst thing about it was letting the kids down. It's a pretty miserable feeling.]"

"[Yeah… I'll bet.]"

They lay there in silence for a little bit, amongst the quiet snores of the others. And the loud snoring of Ash nearby. Pikachu felt Buneary nuzzle her face into the back of his neck after some time, but he tried to ignore it. An uncomfortable task, no thanks to his… 'daydream', but he still tried his best.

"[Well…]" Aipom started, breaking the short silence, "[if it's any consolation, I think you're a pretty great big brother figure.]"

He looked back at her. "[Really?]"

"[Yeah. Not to me, obvs, but you pretty much work well with every kid that shows up. Like Bonsly, and Torkoal, and… well, everyone who showed up in that dream of yours, too. Oh, and… er, if he counts, Pachirisu.]"

He smiled. "[Well… I try, I guess.]"

"[You got that right! You damn-near come across as fatherly, sometimes.]" She winked at him. "[Your future kids are gonna be _real_ spoiled, I can tell.]"

Though his face warmed, he couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. "[Er, we'll see.]"

She giggled slightly. "[Yeah, but really. I don't think there're _any_ kids who don't love you to bits. So the day you let one down's gonna be a cold day in the jungle.]"

"[Heh… thanks,]" he replied, smile growing a little brighter.

Another silence followed, this one more comfortable than the last. He heard Buneary quietly murmuring something about potatoes, but it was a bit inaudible, other than that. He wondered if it was another food she enjoyed.

Aipom suddenly made a thinking noise. "[Y'know, I wonder how the kids are even doing, right now,]" she said, scratching her head with her tail's hand. "[I'll bet they're all grown up and evolved, now.]"

"[Yeah, probably,]" he replied. "['Specially Eevee. I remember that time she said she 'wanted to be a glaceon, no doubt'.]"

She chuckled. "[After seeing one in that contest mag, right?]"

"[Totally! She stared at it in awe for ages.]"

"[Hehe, yeah…]" She huffed slightly. "[Shame Ash isn't into contests. They're really fun.]"

"[True…]" He smiled. "[But don't worry. Maybe he'll do more this region if you bug him enough.]"

She shrugged. "[Who knooows?]" she replied, yawning.

He gave her a sorry look. "[Ah, right, sorry. I'm keeping you up, aren't I?]"

She grinned. "[Heh, yeah, ya jerk.]" She chuckled as he rolled his eyes at her. "[Nah, seriously, it's cool. I'm just glad you're doing better,]" she continued, grin turning softer.

He smiled back. "[Yeah. Thanks for that, Aipom.]"

She winked. "[Anytime~]"

He made a happy noise. "[Well, on that note…]" He stretched. "[Guess I'd better get some shut-eye.]"

She joined in with a stretch of her own before closing her eyes. "[With ya, there!]"

He exhaled slowly while closing his eyes, too. "[I'll, er… try not to yelp again if the dream comes back.]"

"[Huh? You think it'll come back?]"

He shrugged. "[I'm hoping not, but ya never know, I guess…]" he mumbled.

There was a period of silence. Eventually, he began to open his eyes to see what was up. As he did, he suddenly felt a paw wrap over the top of his waist. One that wasn't Buneary's.

"[Welp, time for drastic measures, then!]" Aipom said, face right next to his as she hugged him close.

"[G-Gah! W-What're you doing!?]" he stammered.

"[Keeping away them bad dreams of yours! No way they'll come back when you have two beautiful girls hugging you all night.]" She smirked. "[Especially when one of them's spooning you, huh? Haha!]"

His face lit up like a lighthouse, and not just because she'd finally pointed out Buneary's huggling. Not that that was helping, either. Oh dear… he got the feeling _one_ of his dreams would be set to make a definite comeback, whether he liked it or not. "[Er… th-thanks…]"

"[No problem, buddy.]" She closed her eyes. "[Mmm, g'night.]"

"[… Yeah… nighty night,]" he squeaked out.

She stopped speaking after that. Eventually, after a minute or two, her breathing grew steady. Looking at her, he saw her fast asleep, as expected.

Pikachu was honestly jealous of her. He was basically destined to get no sleep tonight. Sure, he was now pretty unlikely to get a nightmare… but, somehow, being sandwiched between two girls didn't seem like it was going to help, much. For entirely different reasons.

He sighed and turned his gaze towards the forest. A much more relaxing, and distracting, sight than before. Eventually, with great difficulty, he felt his eyelids droop.

"[… Um… I guess you weren't kidding after all, huh?]" a feminine voice started all of a sudden.

He stiffened, eyes shooting open. Looking up, he saw Chimchar, who was staring at him incredulously, cheeks slightly flushed. He could only stare back, no noise wanting to leave his open mouth.

"[Well, er… don't let me stop you. I'll just be… elsewhere,]" she continued before wandering away, out of sight.

… He stayed absolutely still, unable to move any of his limbs. His suddenly dry throat still refused to let any sound escape. Heat that could kill a magcargo wormed its way through his face, making him sweat uncontrollably. Then, all of a sudden… the shudders shot up his spine like a jolt of electricity.

… He _really_ wished he had his pokéball right now.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 18/06 (July)/2017

(Technically speaking, though, the 'special daydream' was made all the way back in early 2016. It was gonna be in a later part of Game-Changer, at the time, but I think it works better here, so hey)

 **Word count:** 5,241

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Oh dear. I can only imagine what dreams he had later on. The perv.

Also, I know what you're all thinking about Eevee… and no, he won't. She's a wee babby, after all! Pikachu doesn't want a criminal record… XP

 **Shameless promotion:** Today, I'm gonna give a shout out to **Miracles.** It's a new fic from **scarcrow151** , which contains an OC Pikachu and Buneary couple. As of writing, we've yet to see what the buneary will be like… but it's looking like we'll see her soon! And looking at the promising first few chapters, I'm pretty enthusiastic to see how it'll continue!

The fic features a young, shiny pichu, named Ryan. He gets poached after an incident involving some Team Rocket-tier goons and their antics. Soon after, edgy stuff happens, and it's pretty fun to read!

Like I said, there's no lago just yet, but if you go and give it enough reviews, I'm sure it'll be bursting to the brim with it! Especially since the fic's already pretty dang cute when it's focused on Ryan.

Y'know, not to spoil anything, but Game-Changer's eventually gonna have a Ryan in it somewhere, too. Great minds think alike, eh? XD

 **Fun mistakes of the day #1: '** He bent down a plucked a pink daisy.'

(Pikachu's having dreams of doing dubious things to shiny Daisy, again. I wonder if Luigi will mind…)

 **#2:** "[What did I tell you about **rubbing** towards danger,]"

(Togepi gets off to danger, apparently. Honestly, it sounds pretty canon to me!)

 **#3:** 'Ice running cold,'

(No ship, Sherlock)

 **#4:** 'Usually, after having a bad dream, he would snuggle into Ash's arms until **Sighing,** '

(Pikashipping confirmed for canon!)

 **#5:** ' _Big ripples began to form on the water because of the shuddering he was **dong.** '_

(Good lord, Pikachu, what's even going on in that freaking daydream of yours!?)

 **#6: '** Today, I'm Miracles'

(I liked the fic so much, I transformed into it. Even more of a reason to read the thing!)

Alrighty, with that, have a great day, folks! And tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Maiding season!  
_


	12. Service With A Shudder

**Arc IV:** The Milky Way

 **Chapter 12:** _Service With A Shudder_

* * *

"Oh, cool, we get to wear one, too?" Dawn asked excitedly, holding up a frilly maid outfit. It contrasted oddly against the brown hues of the barn-like café around her, but was otherwise quite pretty.

"Yup!" Autumn, their friend of the day and an employee of the café they were in, replied. "If you wanna help out at our café, you've gotta look the part, y'know!"

Ash stared at the maid outfit in his hands with wide, horrified eyes. "Oh, man, you've gotta be kiddin' me!" he whined.

"Nope!" the brunette responded.

He slumped his head. "Aww…"

Sitting on Ash's shoulder, Pikachu couldn't help but laugh at him. He was so glad he had nothing to do with this. Well, aside from helping, of course, but he wouldn't need any clothes, being a pokémon and all.

Either way, out of all the days he'd spent in Sinnoh so far, this was already set to be one of the more… interesting ones, he could already tell. Even after the one from over a week ago, involving him sleeping next to Buneary and Aipom - well, Ambipom, now.

Thinking of Aipo- er, Ambipom, he began to remember the odd feelings that had plagued him about her earlier in the week. He'd already found himself unused to the idea of her being Dawn's pokémon instead of Ash's… but now, she was, like, slightly more than double his height. She'd certainly come a long way since Pikachu had met her in Kanto. Something that couldn't also be said for her maturity. She seemed to be getting more and more tease-happy as time went on. Not that anyone was surprised at all…

"Don't you have a butler outfit I could wear, or something?" Ash asked, still grimacing at the maid outfit he was carrying.

"Ash, it's called a maid café for a reason, y'know," Dawn explained.

Spring, the brown-haired sister of Autumn, looked apologetic. "Yeah. We don't have any other uniforms, I'm afraid…" she said.

Ash looked dejected. "W-Well… darn."

"No need to worry, Ash," Dawn reassured. "If you don't help out, then you won't have to wear one!"

Hearing a gasp escape Ash's throat, Pikachu quickly hopped off his trainer's shoulder. He knew Ash well enough to know what was coming next.

" _Not help out!?_ " Ash wailed right on cue. "Never mind, I'll wear it!" Still holding the maid outfit, he dashed into a separate room while tearing off his jacket. He threw it in a random direction, accidentally hitting Piplup with it in the process.

As everyone either amusedly or worriedly glanced in Ash's direction, the mouse shook his head exasperatedly. If he had to, Ash would seriously jump off a plane in order to help out a stranger. Actually, that wasn't far from what he usually did, already…

Autumn's purple-haired sister, Summer, was the first to break off the awkward silence. "Well… in any case, I guess we'd better get the rest of you geared up."

Dawn tilted her head as she picked up an irritated Piplup. "Huh? The rest of us? D'you mean Brock?"

"Nope. He'll be too busy helping Autumn bond with her miltank, Ilta, for that. Once he… recovers from his croagunk's punch, anyway." She inclined her head towards the doorway the frog had dragged the pokémon breeder through mere moments ago.

Dawn stared at her in confusion. "Huh? Then what do you…?" She clicked her fingers, seemingly catching onto something. "Oh, right, I get'cha! Do you mean…?"

Summer beamed. "Haha, yup! After all, it's just like Autumn said…" She collected some miniature maid outfits from a nearby table and held them up, "… _everyone's_ gotta look the part!"

Pikachu tilted his head. What in the world were they even talking about?

… His eyes went wide. Oh, dear legends, _no! Anything but...!_

* * *

Pikachu's face felt like it was on fire. Why? Why did he have to go through this again? Had Annabelle tracked him down and sentenced him to this horrible fate, or something? He was starting to flipping wonder.

"D'aww, it looks great on you, little guy!" Autumn praised, looking at Pikachu.

Flinching, he glanced to the side to stare into a nearby mirror. Seeing the frilly maid outfit he was wearing, he grimaced heavily. Ugh, yeah, if he were a girl, then maybe…

... Well… alright. He… couldn't deny that he looked a… _little_ good in it, b-but still…!

Ash laughed at him, despite looking equally as ridiculous in his own maid outfit. "Hey, y'know what? That actually really suits ya, buddy!" he said, holding a metal tray to his chest.

Making a noise of displeasure at the teasing, Pikachu used the apron on his front to cover his burning face. "[Oh, quiet, you…]" he muttered.

Turtwig, who was wearing just the apron and frilly head lace of the outfit, walked over to the mouse's side. "[Eheh, don't worry, man. I feel ya,]" he said, a blush of his own forming.

"[Ughh, I'm gonna get made fun of for this, aren't I?]"

"[C'mon, man. Just act natural, and you'll be alright.]"

Pikachu took a deep breath. "[… H-Here's hoping.]"

Spring went over to stand beside the door of the room Dawn was changing in. "You and your pokémon almost finished in there?" she asked.

"Yup! We're coming out now!" the coordinator's voice responded. Soon after, she and all of her pokémon poured out of the room and filed into position.

Following Turtwig's advice, Pikachu had to try his hardest to repress his shudders. Upon spying Piplup rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, however, the mouse couldn't stop himself from doing the same. Dang it, awkwardness was contagious…

The rest of the team seemed happy enough to be wearing their outfits, though. Most of them were smiling brightly, including Dawn, who was pulling off a pretty pose.

The most eager of them all, however, was Buneary, who was dancing about excitedly. "[Heee~! A mirror! Where's a mirror!? I gotta see how I look in this!]" she exclaimed gleefully.

Ambipom pointed towards the mirror. "[Over there, next to those two pretty _girls!_ ]" she replied before giggling.

… Nope, Pikachu had failed. There was the shuddering he'd come to know and hate…

Turtwig groaned before moving elsewhere, head slumped. Not that the mouse blamed him.

Before he could consider following him, he noticed Buneary glancing over in his general direction.

"[Ooh, okay then- … Huh?]" she started, stopping as she spotted him, eyes going wider.

He suddenly felt on edge. Oh no, was she going to get in on the teasing, too?

She hopped over and stopped in front of him, eyeing him up and down with her paws to her mouth.

"[Yeah, yeah… l-looks ridiculous, right?]" he asked, fiddling with his fingers.

"[Oooh, not in a million years! You look… so…]" Her paws flew to her chin with a look of admiration in her eyes, "[… _adorableeee~!_ ]"

He was really taken aback by that comment. "[Uh… for reals?]"

"[For reals! You pull off the look so freakin' well!]"

Huh… he wasn't used to hearing such sincere compliments when it came to him wearing this sort of girly stuff. Heck, her comment even felt… ego-boosting, despite everything.

Feeling bashful for an entirely different reason now, he turned his gaze away as his face warmed. "[O-Oh, well… thanks, Bun.]"

"[Man, I hope I look half as good as you,]" she said, paws to her cheeks.

"[Eheh, well, why not look for yourself?]" he responded, turning his gaze towards the mirror.

When her eyes drifted towards it, she gave a loud gasp. Looking herself over, she trembled in excitement. "[I look so _darliiing~!_ ]"

Pikachu let a tiny chuckle escape his lips at the eccentric display. Still, he couldn't deny it; she did look pretty good in a maid outfit.

… He was glad his friends couldn't read his mind. He knew for a fact that they'd take a comment like that the wrong way entirely. Regardless, he nodded and smiled. "[Y-Yeah. Not bad at all, Bun,]" he praised.

"[Hee, thanks~]" she replied, removing her paws from her beaming face. As she did so, Pikachu could have almost sworn he saw a big blush on her. Gosh, she must have really liked what she'd seen.

Piplup, who was blushing madly himself, drew closer. "[Er… sh-she d-doesn't… look as good as I do in… th-th-this, though,]" he mumbled.

Pachirisu, who didn't seem to mind wearing the outfit, came over. "[That implies you think you look the best in girly clothes like these!]" he noted, amused.

The penguin jolted back in shock. "[What!? N-No it doesn't, you jerk!]" He put his flippers to his hips and stuck his beak up high. "[I'm just saying that I'm so good, I can even make clothes like _this_ look manly!]"

"[I don't think that's what everyone else is thinking~]" the squirrel replied, giggling.

Piplup started to dance flusteredly, which only served to make him look even more flamboyant. "[Ughhh, q-q-quiet, you!]"

Pikachu and the others chuckled. How typical.

After their merriment ended, Buneary moved closer to the mouse to mutter something to him. "[… He looks nowhere near as manly as you do in yours, though…!]"

He blinked. "[… Really?]"

"[Ahaha, better believe it~]" she replied, winking.

"[Oh… well, th-thanks,]" he replied, his confidence soaring. Dang, she was good at doing that…

Ash looked over at everyone crowding near the mirror. "Huh. I'm surprised everyone over here's taking this so well," he said, scratching the top of his lace-laden head.

"Of course they are," Dawn replied happily. "They all suit their little uniforms so wonderfully~"

He shrugged. "Er… guess so, Dawn."

Hearing that, Pikachu glanced at himself in the mirror again, smiling softly as he did. Things could've been worse, he supposed. At least he wasn't being forced to wear a flashy pink dress, or anything along those lines. Stuff like that would've started giving him unpleasant flashbacks…

Feeling strangely invigorated, Pikachu nodded to himself. Yeah, he could do this! He just had to believe in the heart of his maid skills!

Suddenly, a ringing noise could be heard. Turning to face it, Pikachu saw the café's front door open. Two boys of varying sizes entered the building shortly after. " _We're baaaack~_ " they sang.

Ash turned towards Pikachu and the others. "Alright, Pikachu, Turtwig... you guys ready?" he asked.

Turtwig, who'd gotten into position nearby, shrugged. "[Ready as I'll ever be…]"

Pikachu pumped a fist. "[Yeah, let's do it!]"

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, throwing some drinks onto his tray and running towards the customers. "Then _let's show 'em some real service!_ "

Pikachu and Turtwig rushed behind him, girly appearances be darned. If they were gonna be maids, they were gonna be some frigging _good_ maids!

"[ _Welcome to the café~!_ ]" Pikachu shouted enthusiastically. "[ _Please enjoy our lovely milk!_ ]"

"[ _C-Can we take your coats?_ ]" Turtwig forced out, squinting his eyes shut.

" _Welcome home, masters!_ " Ash yelled more than a little too eagerly. " _We'll give you a service you'll never forget!_ "

Before the trio could even reach them, the customers both screamed and ran away, slamming the door shut as they left.

With a panicked expression, Ash opened the door and rushed after them. "Hey, wait a minute! We haven't served ya yet…!"

Pikachu and Turtwig simply stood in front of the door. Huh, how rude. Pikachu thought the three of them had done such a great job, too. Well, neither of the customers were wearing coats, but still.

… Wait. What the heck had he just done!? Along with Turtwig, he slowly turned to face all the others. As he did, he saw a whole manner of different expressions. They ranged from perturbance, to great amusement, to, in Buneary's case at least, admiration.

Pikachu paused for a long time. Eventually, as the blood in his cheeks felt like it was about to boil, he pulled his apron up to cover his face again. Especially after hearing a wolf whistle from someone in the room. Nope. His confidence boost was now deader than a ghost-type. Especially as Ash returned with the customers in tow, who both looked incredibly awkward.

"[Ughhh, never again…!]" Turtwig mumbled next to him.

"[… Yeah…]" Pikachu replied. "[N-Not in a million years…]"

"Alright, everyone!" Summer proclaimed suddenly. "It won't be long until they start pouring in, so let's get to work!"

Everyone cheered and scattered away, ready to help out. Pikachu and Turtwig, however, just stood where they were, still reeling from the embarrassment.

"[So much for that…]" the tortoise said, sighing.

"[Yeah…]" Pikachu replied, steeling himself.

Turtwig slowly wandered away in a direction. "[Well, maybe we'll get used to it.]"

Exhaling through his nose, Pikachu nodded, heading away into the direction of the café's counter. Turtwig was right. At least he wouldn't be yelling girly stuff at the top of his lungs, again. Besides, it seemed fairly quiet today, so it wasn't like there would be much in the way of mishaps. He could only hope, anyway.

* * *

"[Pikachu, three regulars for table six!]" Chimchar yelled out from atop the counter, waving him over. She was barely audible over all the noise in the café.

With a pant, Pikachu ran over on all fours, balancing a tray on his tail. "[Coming!]" he called back. He weaved in-between the dozens of patrons who were walking about the busy café. He almost dropped the tray after nearly bumping into Turtwig, who was running in the opposite direction, a tray of chocolate milk balanced on his shell. Shouting out a response to Turtwig's apology, the mouse scrambled to keep his tray steady. Recovering his balance, he breathed a sigh of relief and shot off again.

Once he got close enough to Chimchar, the monkey dropped a few glasses of milk towards him. Catching them with his tray, he thanked her and ran in table six's direction. He had to admit, he was _really_ grateful Chimchar and Staravia had come out of their pokéballs to give them a hand. It would've been nice if Buizel had come out to help with this humongous rush hour, too… but that was a bit of a tall order for him, so whatever.

Upon reaching table six, he picked the tray up with his paws and threw it directly upwards. Jumping onto the table, he caught it with his tail, ensuring none of the glasses spilled any milk. With a breath, he bowed towards the three boys who were seated as they stared at him in awe. "[Thank you for waiting, masters! Enjoy your milk!]" he said, carefully putting their drinks in front of them.

"Awww, it's so cute!" one of the boys cooed, reaching forwards to stroke him on the head.

Smiling with only a little exasperation, he made a happy noise as he was rubbed behind the ear. As much as he enjoyed his little 'tip', however, he couldn't stay. He could see a table with empty glasses! Readjusting the lace on his head and taking his tray, he jumped to the ground and ran over to that table.

Once he made it there, after much slaloming around the legs of the customers, he jumped onto the table. While he put the empty glasses on his tray, a woman seated at the table made a delighted noise. "D'awww, she's such a hard little worker~" she cooed, hands to her cheeks.

Hiding his tail and trying his hardest not to groan, he forced a smile. "[Hee, thank you…!]" He balanced the glass-filled tray on his tail while hopping off the table and dashed towards the counter. Running along, he briefly saw Ash at the other end of the café. He seemed to be attempting to carry a huge milk can to some table on his tray, which seemed tiny in comparison. Unsurprisingly, the poor trainer looked about ready to faint. It made Pikachu all the happier that he hadn't been asked to make that delivery.

Upon reaching the counter, he hopped up onto it. "[Got some glasses!]" he shouted, taking them off his tray and putting them down.

Ambipom ran over. "[Hah… thanks, lady maid!]" she joked, wiping some sweat off her face with her paws. She picked the glasses up with the hands on the ends of her two tails at the same time.

He pulled a face . "[H-Hey… I'm not ladylike at all! I'm just dedicated to the business!]"

She giggled. "[You keep telling yourself that, laaaady!]" she replied, running towards the sink with the glasses in tow.

Grumbling, he turned away, deciding to try and ignore her. Doing so, he got a good view of the entire café. Chaotic didn't even _begin_ to cover things. All the tables were stuffed full of customers. Some pokémon, most humans. Many of them had taken to walking about while drinking their milk, making maneuvering the café floor a problem. Still, the gang were trying their hardest to keep up.

Suddenly, Pachirisu ran across the long table directly in front of the counter. Balanced on top of the squirrel's head was a tray, filled with banana milk and pecha milk. Soon, Pachirisu stopped in front of some customers, put the tray down and bowed. "[Blah, blah, milk, blah, blah!]" Pachirisu chimed.

"Hey, dude, she's, like, saying something cutesy to ya!" the boy in a hat sitting nearby said.

"Awww, you're welcome, cutey!" a boy without a hat sitting next to him said, stroking Pachirisu on the head.

The electric-type made a happy noise while putting the glasses on the table. One that sounded suspiciously like holding back laughter. "[Cheese bagels!]"

"Dude, so cute!" the hatted boy cooed.

Shoving the tray back into place, squashing ears in the process, Pachirisu ran over to another group of patrons nearby before carefully bowing towards them. "[Something, something, gimmie the goods!]" the squirrel said, pointing at some empty glasses.

"Oh, you want my glass?" a female customer asked. As Pachirisu nodded, the woman beamed. "Well, how can I say no when you've asked so nicely? Here you go!" She, along with the other nearby customers, placed an empty glass onto the squirrel's tray.

"[Cranberry waffle irooons~]" Pachirisu responded, running over to the counter.

Pikachu stared on in disbelief. When the squirrel ran past, he called out. "[Hey, hey, hey, Pachirisu!]" he shouted.

Pachirisu stopped and looked up at him. "[Hey, Mascot Man! What's up?]"

Pikachu pointed at the customers from before, who were now leaving their seats. "[The heck was _that?_ ]" he asked.

The squirrel raised an eyebrow. "[What? Don't worry, I can balance 'em.]"

"[No, not the tray, that was great! I'm talking about you speaking nonsense to the customers.]"

Pachirisu's lips made on 'o' shape. "[Right. Well, I don't see the problem! They don't have a clue what I'm saying, and it saves me from wasting time thinking up pleasantries!]"

"[B-But… you…]" Pikachu sighed while rubbing the bridge of his nose. "[Actually, fine, whatever works. Just… watch out for pokémon customers, alright? They'll understand you.]"

The squirrel stared at him blankly. "[… Oh, y'know what? That might explain why that shinx was looking at me all funny, earlier. Whoopsie.]"

Pikachu cringed. "[Pachirisu…]" He sighed before smiling faintly. "[Well, now you know, I guess. Just try and be careful in the future, alright?]"

Pachirisu smiled sheepishly. "[Eheh, right you are, M-M!]" The squirrel turned towards Ambipom's direction and shot off, still equipped with the tray and the empty glasses.

Exhaling through his nose, Pikachu began to scan the café for something else to do. Noticing Chimchar and Piplup talking about something at the other end of the counter, the mouse dashed over, still balancing his tray on his tail. As he got close enough, he could hear their conversation.

"[… So you're _absolutely_ sure you've got it, this time?]" Chimchar asked.

"[Yeah, yeah!]" Piplup retorted, irritably putting different milk glasses on his tray. "[It'll be _easy!_ Because being a maid is _easy!_ Easy as-]" He screeched as the glass in his flippers almost slipped out of his grip. Grabbing it and holding it to his apron, he took a breath. "[… Easy as one, two, three!]" he proclaimed, frowning determinedly.

A worried frown crossed the monkey's face, as well as Pikachu's as he stopped in front of them.

"[… Uh huh,]" Chimchar replied, fiddling with the lace on her head. "[Well, whenever it doesn't crash to the ground constantly or go to the wrong customer… or get drunken by the pokémon who's supposed to be serving it, then yeah. Easy.]"

Pikachu's eyes widened. "[Huh!? Who keeps doing all of _that!?_ ]" he asked, putting his tray down to the side.

She sighed, eyes rolling in Piplup's direction. "[I'll give you one good gue-]"

"[No, nope, nobody! _Nobody_ does that!]" the penguin interjected, face red. "[J-Just lemmie do my flipping job, and stuff.]"

"[Alright… well, you only have to go over there, I suppose,]" she said, pointing at a nearby group of customers. "[It'd be hard to screw _that_ up, surely.]"

"[Yes. _Especially_ for me!]" he retorted, picking up his tray of milk glasses and carefully moving over to the customers.

Pikachu smiled in his direction. "[I believe in you, pal!]" he cheered.

Piplup paused, still turned away. Shortly after, he huffed. "[Me too!]" he said, proudly. He briefly paused again. "[… Um, thanks.]" He continued on his short journey.

While the penguin got to work on walking down the long table, allowing the customers to pick drinks off his tray, Chimchar sighed again. "[Good lord…]" she muttered, straightening her maid apron.

"[Hey, at least he's trying his best, Xerneas bless him,]" Pikachu replied.

She huffed amusedly. "[You're just biased. He's a flipping headache, seriously.]"

He chuckled. "[I've seen worse.]"

She grinned. "[A scary thought.]" She tilted her head. "[Also, what's a… whatever you said?]"

"[… Er, some foreign legendary,]" he replied, shrugging innocently. "[Anyway, got any jobs for me to do? I'm sure there's plenty!]"

Her head jolted back. "[Oh, yeah, right! Of course!]" She turned around to face some glasses of brown-tinted milk. "[There's a diet milk, whatever that means, and some chai milks here for table... um…]" She stopped dead in her tracks. "[… Wait, where's the third one?]" She paused again. "[And why is there a vanilla one… here… Oh no.]"

Some loud coughing and hacking erupted from the table next to them. Snapping to attention, Pikachu saw one of the patrons, a sneasel, dramatically clutching at his throat.

"[Oh god, the heck is this!?]" the sneasel exclaimed. "[It's so…]" An especially harsh cough escaped his lips, "[… _spicyyyy! Agh!_ ]"

"[Oh, s-sorry, madam!]" Piplup exclaimed flusterdly. "[I-I… Someone gave me the wrong milk! Yeah!]"

The sneasel's head sank to the table. "[… I'm a frigging guy…]" he wheezed.

The penguin's eyes widened. "[O-Oh, well… I knew that!]" He rapidly shook his head. "[I-I mean, I'm sorry, master…. but I knew that!]"

Chimchar slapped a paw to her face. "[… I swear, we'd better be getting paid for this.]"

Some sweat went down the side of Pikachu's head. "[Somehow, I doubt it…]"

Sighing for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, Chimchar shrugged exaggeratedly. "[Alright, I'm gonna go and try to fix things. Go get another chai milk from Staravia, and send it off to table one with the other milks, please. Won't ya?]"

He nodded energetically. "[On it!]" He picked up his tray with his tail, put the milk glasses on it and dashed to the other end of the counter. As he reached it, he flagged down Staravia, who was perched on a shelf. "[Hey, Staravia! I need some of that chai stuff!]"

"[Okay!]" the gray bird called back, flapping his wings and lifting off into the air. With surprising grace, despite his apron dangling beneath him, he flew over to the glasses and pulled one off with his talons. Leaving it on the side of the counter, he flew higher. Flapping his wings harshly, he whipped up a large gust of wind towards a shelf of flavoring packets. After rustling about, one came loose and rode on the wind to fly towards him.

When Staravia grabbed it, Pikachu applauded him, along with some of the patrons. "[Not baaad! Been practicing, much?]" he asked.

The flying-type grinned, throwing the flavor packet down towards him. "[Yup! Sure helps speed things along.]" He looked off in a different direction while pouting. "[… Still wish Ash would notice my efforts more often, though.]"

Tilting his head, Pikachu looked in the same direction. He saw Ash looking distracted by an octillery, who was angrily waving a glass of frothy milk around while complaining at him. Part of Pikachu hoped it wasn't as aggressive as the one he'd met once, at a certain lake…

When Ash was sprayed in the face with ink, Pikachu grimaced and looked back at Staravia. "[Er… maybe he will once he's finished being abused,]" he said.

Staravia exhaled slowly. "[Maybe…]" His eyes widened as he saw something further down the counter. "[Anyway, looks like Turtwig wants me for something. Later, Pikachu!]" He flew away in the direction of the tortoise, who was waving him over.

"[Later!]" Pikachu called back with a wave. Placing the tray of milks down, he grabbed a milk faucet and sprayed his empty glass full of the white stuff. Tearing open the packet of chai spices, he poured it in and began to stir frantically with a nearby spoon. He had to stir for ten seconds or more, so he had a brief moment to chill.

Looking around, he was finally aware of the dozens of plates lining the shelves. Huh… why were those there? He thought this was a milk bar, and he hadn't seen any food being served in the last twenty or so minutes they'd worked here. Then again, there were cakes inside some of the display windows lining the counter… He wondered if they were made of milk, too.

Speaking of milk… he also wondered if miltank minded getting milked. Did it feel unpleasant? If nothing else, it must have been embarrassing having their… um… udders on display at all times…

Feeling another blush coming on, he shook his head and took the spoon out of the now brown-tinted drink. Tossing the spoon to one side, he placed the glass onto the tray and picked the whole thing up with his tail. Jumping to the floor, he ran over to table one, dodging around the many pairs of legs in his way.

After running past Summer, who was busy taking orders, he suddenly heard some familiar chuckling. Looking to see what was going on, his eyes widened. "[Huh? _Buizel?_ ]" he exclaimed.

"[Looking pretty graceful, there, kid,]" the orange weasel teased, leaning against a table and smirking with his arms crossed. "[It's almost like you were born to be a maid, or something.]"

Pikachu frowned in embarrassment. "[W-What do you mean by that?]"

Buizel snickered lightly. "[Let's just say that I can see why Ambipom calls ya girly, now.]"

Pikachu's face began to reach an annoyingly high temperature again. "[Oh, come on! Even _you're_ teasing me, now?]"

Smirk growing, Buizel shrugged. "[Ehh, y'know what? It seems fun, so how could I resist?]"

A groan escaped Pikachu's lips. Well, at least the guy was acting less serious than before, now. Even if he had joined the dark side. "[Yeah, well… someone's gotta play the part to keep the customers happy, so _nyeh!_ ]" He almost stuck his tongue out, but decided against it.

"[Heh. Something tells me that's not the only reason you're-]"

"Awesome, Buizel, you decided to help us out, after all!" Ash said, appearing next to him out of nowhere. Noticeably, his face was stained black.

Buizel's eyes widened. "[… Wait, wha-]"

"Good job I decided to carry a bunch of spares, after all!" Ash interrupted, pulling an extra maid costume out of his apron. "Here ya go, buddy!"

A panicked look overcame the weasel. "[N-No, wait, I'm not-]"

Before he could say another word, Ash slung the outfit over him, transforming him into a fellow maid.

Pikachu burst out into laughter at the sight of the flabbergasted weasel. "[ _Now_ who's pretty graceful?]"

"Ahehehe! Looking good, Buizel!" Ash praised.

"[… Shut up, both of you,]" Buizel muttered, grumpily pushing the lace on his head back into position.

While Ash left to do some other job, Pikachu grinned and put the tray in front of Buizel. "[Guess I'd better get you started with something to keep you on your toes!]" He pointed at the table near the entrance. "[This one's for table one over there.]"

Face reddening, the water-type picked the tray up. "[Alright, w-whatever.]" He made his way over, keeping his head down the entire time.

Pikachu watched him for a while. Eventually, he caught sight of Dawn out of the corner of his eye. Looking to see what she was up to, he jumped. Good lord, there were a lot of people hanging around the entrance! He saw mostly humans, who were being greeted by Dawn and Spring, but a bunch of pokémon were also gathering nearby. Noticeably, Buneary was in the middle of them, looking somewhat overwhelmed.

Seeing the distressed look on her face, he felt sorry for her. She was the sole pokémon maid tackling the greeting job. Something the humans couldn't help her with, either. Pokémon customers preferred pokémon maids, for obvious reasons. With that in mind, the mouse ran over.

As he came closer, he heard Buneary speaking to the pokémon around her. "[Welcome home, master!]" she said with a bow to one pokémon. She turned to face another one and bowed. "[Welcome home, master!]"

"[I'm baaaack!]" a chimecho chimed, popping his head through the door.

"[We're back!]" a group of bug-types exclaimed, pouring in.

An exasperated look briefly flashed across Buneary's smiling face. "[Welcome home, master! Welcome home, masters!]" she said, bowing in multiple directions one after the other.

"[I'm offf~!]" a chikorita sang, leaving with his trainer.

"[See you again, soon, master!]" Buneary called out to him, bowing with a wave.

Man, Pikachu felt exhausted just _watching_ her work. Clearly, she needed some help. "[Hey, Bun,]" he said, stopping next to her.

She turned to face him and bowed. "[Welcome home, master-]" She jolted as she saw his face. "[Ah! O-Oh, er… hey, Pikachu!]"

"[Eheh, hey…]" he replied, trying to hold back an awkward smile. He suddenly found himself grateful Ambipom was elsewhere. "[Um, how goes it? You're looking pretty exhausted over here.]"

She slumped her shoulders. "[Oh, you have _no_ idea. Ever since Turtwig had to stop helping me to go do other stuff… I've barely gotten a second to myself to think stra-]"

"[I'm baaack!]" a makuhita bellowed suddenly, coming through the entrance with his trainer.

Starting, Buneary spun on the spot and bowed towards him. "[W-Welcome home master!]"

Beaming with a faint blush, the makuhita went inside, following behind his trainer.

Exhaling, Buneary turned back towards Pikachu. "[… What was I saying?]"

He gave a look of sympathy. "[Something you've just proven…]" He gave her a reassuring smile. "[Don't worry, though. Buizel's very generously taken up my job, so I'm gonna help you out!]"

She clasped her paws together and stared at him with hopeful, sparkling eyes. "[Really?]" Her gaze became blank. "[… And really? _Buizel_ did?]"

"[Yup!]" He rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, and yup! Whether he likes it or not.]"

"[Oh. Ahaha, okay!]" she replied, amused. "[Hee, and thanks, Pika! You're the absolute _biggest_ life-saver…]"

Her appreciation began to poke at his bashfulness. Especially with that bubbly look she was giving him. Combined with the maid outfit, it was actually slightly cute. In fact, it kind of reminded him of that… dream.

… He shook his head and turned towards the entrance. "[N-No problem! Anyway, let's go greet some customers!]" he said, hoping she couldn't see what he assumed was another blush on his face.

"[Alright, let's do it!]" she replied. She giggled. "[Maybe not as enthusiastically as the last time you greeted someone at the door, though, maybe.]"

He suddenly found an excuse for his warm face. "[H-Hey… that was… well, you know…]"

"[Ahaha! Don't worry, I'm just teasing~]" she chimed. "[Anyway, time to welcome some masters home!]"

He sighed, though a small grin still worked its way onto his lips. "[Yeah… let's.]"

With that, he prepared himself for the next customer.

It was only then he realized the large crowd of patrons lining up outside, ready to enter.

… Oh no.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished-**

 **Old stuff:** 24/07 (July)/2016

 **New stuff:** 22/06 (June)/2017

 **Word count:** 5,413

 **Times the word 'milk' was used:** 26

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** ravengal got a shiny buneary _and_ a shiny pikachu the other week (as of the time I wrote this message originally). I'm so bloody jealous. That said, she helped me come up with the name for this arc, so… maybe I'll forgive her. This time.

By the way, there's probably more than a little bit of me fudging things when it comes to reenacting these scenes from the anime. Just so ya know, it's most likely that I did it on purpose to give the scenes a little more of a Game-Changer flair. Sometimes to the point where things get into AU territory. However, if you notice anything especially glaring, please lemmie know! I love getting critical feedback. So much so that I give it to myself on a daily basis, but that's another story.

 **Shameless promotion:** Seeing as good ol' Buizel made an appearance, I think it's about time I mentioned the story known as **Pokemon: Pikachu, Buneary, and Buizel's Adventure** , by **Dizzie HamHam Writer**! It's a charming little read about Pikachu, Buneary and Buizel's shenanigans-filled journey back to their trainers, after Team Rocket does a thing.

It's got some fun antics and interactions between the three mons, as well as a fun, imaginative battle involving ghosts, so it's worth the read! Try not to be too intimidated by the huge word count, though. It's a pretty big one-shot, for sure. Makes me wish it was split into chapters, honestly, but hey. I've seen far worse. XP

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** "[Ooh, okay then- …Huh?]" She stopped speaking started, stopping as she spied him.

(Apparently the maid outfit caused Buneary to have a mild stroke. Nothing new there!)

 **#2:** "[Man, I hope I look half as good as you,]" she said, some of her face with her paws for whatever reason.

(Oh, good lord, her paws have fused to her face. I wonder if Pikachu will still find her pretty…)

 **#3: '** Some of them looked like they were holding back a cringe, especially **Turtuwig.** '

(Oh dear, Pikachu's gone full on Japanese. He's using horrible Engrish! Poor Turtuwigu…)

 **#4:** "[Welcome hom, master!]"

(Buneary's been playing too much Xenoblade, clearly. She's really feeling it!)

Welp, tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _The professionals arrive._


	13. Maid For The Job

**Chapter 14:** _Maid For The Job_

* * *

Panting, Pikachu, along with Buneary, bowed towards a customer. "[Welcome home, master!]" they said to him. Turning towards separate customers, they bowed again. "[Welcome home, master!]" Pikachu said, followed by Buneary. Turning in the opposite direction to her, he bowed towards a female customer. "[Welcome… home, master!]" he said to her.

He felt sweat trickle down his forehead. Holy moly… he was starting to feel Buneary's pain. It had only been several minutes, and he was already beginning to think the flow of customers was _endless!_ Was it _always_ this busy in the café!?

After greeting another customer, he wiped his brow and turned towards Buneary. "[Whew… I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed. How'd you ever manage to do this by yourself?]"

She gave him an exasperated smile. "[Ahah, well… I didn't do it _all_ by myself.]" She pointed towards Dawn and Spring, who were greeting some customers. "[Dawn and Autumn have been helping the entire time.]"

"[Well, I still think it's impressive!]" He rubbed his head sheepishly. "[Also… she's Spring, not Autumn.]"

Buneary's eyes widened. "[R-Really?]" she asked. He nodded, making her pull an embarrassed look. "[Whoops… Man, how can you even tell? I was going off their hair colors…]"

He chuckled. "[When you meet as many people as me and Ash have, you start to get _very_ good with names. Believe me.]"

She chuckled along with him. "[Makes sense to me!]"

"[Besides, Dawn and Spring can't greet the pokémon as well as you can. Being human and all. So… good job!]" he said, giving her a thumbs up.

Blushing, she bashfully pulled the bottom of her apron up to cover her face. "[Hee, I guess so. Thanks!]" Looking surprised, she dropped her apron. "[Oh! Speaking of which, I'd better not slack off!]" She began to glance around the area.

Shaking his head in amusement, he also looked around for other customers to greet. Amazingly, it seemed like there was a pause in customers entering and leaving.

"Oh, thank goodness…" Dawn said from nearby, wiping sweat away from her forehead. "For a second, there, I thought it would never end!"

"I know how you feel…" Spring muttered. "It's not usually _this_ busy during Happy Milk Hour."

"Happy Milk Hour?" Dawn asked, head tilted.

"It's the hour of the day when all of our milk is on a big discount. As you can expect, it's when we're at our busiest."

"[Oh, I'll believe that…]" Buneary mumbled, making Pikachu chuckle.

"Okay then. Well, no need to worry!" Dawn chimed in reply to Spring. "We can handle it! Right, Buneary and Pikachu?"

They both pumped a fist into the air and cheered.

Spring smiled. "That's the spirit, guys!"

"Besides…" Summer piped in, suddenly next to them. "I've sent out a call for some backup! Remember, Spring, when I said our older sister was in town, to get some business training for _her_ café?"

Spring gasped. "You mean Winter is coming?"

"She sure is! I gave her a call, and she agreed to come and help out."

Spring made a noise of glee. "That's great! Ooh, is she going to bring her cute little pokémon maids along, too?"

"It's likely!"

"Pokémon maids?" Dawn asked, a finger to her chin. "Like your miltanks?"

"Nope," Summer replied. "Her pokémon are special ones that have trained for the maid life instead of the battling one. They're really something else!"

A life of being a maid and not getting to battle… Pikachu shivered at the thought. Still, it wasn't too far off something he'd gone through once, already…

Dawn beamed excitedly. "Ooh, special maid pokémon… how cool! And she's bringing them here?"

"Absolutely~" a feminine voice from the doorway chimed.

Spring and Summer gasped as the owner of the voice stepped into the café. A pink-haired woman in a similar maid outfit to Spring and Summer's.

"Winter!" they both cried, going over to give her a hug, which was returned.

"[Gosh, speak of the devil,]" Pikachu said in amusement.

"[Ahaha, yeah,]" Buneary replied. Her eyes lit up in realization. "[Ooh, does this mean we can actually get some help greeting people?]"

"[Oh, I hope so!]" Pikachu replied just as enthusiastically.

After exchanging some quick pleasantries with her sisters and Dawn, Winter looked around, growing increasingly surprised. "Oh, deary me… I see what you meant. It's quite busy today, isn't it?" she said.

"Yeah, it's the busiest Happy Milk Hour we've had in _years_!" Spring responded.

"On the day we got volunteers, too, which is just perfect," Summer added exasperatedly.

"Hmm, I'm not surprised," Winter responded in amusement, glancing in Pikachu and Buneary's direction. "You know, pokémon maids are very popular in today's day and age… which may explain why you're doing so well today. What with your extra help."

Dawn chuckled. "I guess so!"

"It's just like _your_ café, then, huh, Winter?" Spring said.

Winter nodded. "Absolutely! Oh, and with that in mind…" She pulled out four pink pokéballs, each adorned with a heart shape. "I guess we had better get down it, then. Out you come, ladies!" she said, tossing the balls upwards.

They all opened at once, releasing white light into the air. The light transformed into four strange pokémon Pikachu couldn't identify. One green, one black, one white and one gray. They were all wearing lacy headbands and frilly aprons.

In perfect synchrony, they performed a backwards flip and tossed a circular tray into the air. Twirling as they fell, the maids released a stream of pretty effects, which corkscrewed around them. Effects such as petals, purple energy, water and sparkles.

Landing in a line, they took up a hunched position on one foot, holding an arm in the air. A short pause followed until the trays fell directly into their hands. Rising into a standing position with their trays against their fronts, they smiled delicately and gave a curtsy.

Pikachu stared in awe. Glancing to his side, he saw an amazed look in Buneary's eyes, too. Judging by all the clapping behind them, he guessed that they weren't the only impressed ones, either.

" _Woooow!_ What a cool entrance!" Dawn praised, giving them a look of adoration. "I could learn a lot about contesting from you!"

Winter made a pleased noise. "Why, thank you~. We've been practicing that one for months!" she replied. She gestured towards the green pokémon, who seemed to be a grass-type. "Especially Flower, here. It took her a while to perfect the landing…"

The green pokémon blushed lightly, though she didn't react otherwise. Pikachu found it admittedly cute. Something Ambipom, and now Buizel, would have mocked him about, no doubt.

The mouse suddenly heard an annoyed huff to his side. Glancing over, he saw Piplup, who was pouting at the four pokémon. He had a tray of different milks in his flippers. "[Show offs,]" he muttered. "[I could have done that easily.]" He grumpily turned on his heel. A split second later, he slipped and crashed onto his back as all the milk spilled onto his face.

Most of the customers laughed, making Pikachu cringe empathetically. Poor Piplup… that must've been so mortifying.

He saw Buneary roll her eyes at him, also looking quite embarrassed.

Dawn exasperatedly slumped her shoulders. "Oh, brother… Piplup, of all the times..." she mumbled.

"[Ughh… dumb tray…]" Piplup groaned, hiding his face with the tray in question.

Slowly shaking his head, Pikachu glanced over at the maids. Winter and the grassy pokémon were glancing over in concern. However, the gray one was staring ahead blankly, smiling. The other two, the dark-type-looking pokémon, and the apparent water-type, seemed to be trying their best not to crack up with laughter.

Noticing them, Winter pulled a disapproving face. "Marina. Espy. Professionalism…!" she chided.

The two pokémon immediately stiffened as their names were called out, faces neutral.

Sighing, Winter gave a nod while going back to smiling pleasantly. "Okay. Now, Nora, if you'd please~"

Nodding back, the pokémon covered in white tendrils ran over to Piplup. Once close enough, she held out a tendril near him.

Grumbling, he pushed it away. "[I can handle myself, thank you very much!]" He got back up to his feet and began to walk away, only to slip on some milk and fall to his front. The customers laughed at him again.

Her pleasant smile not faltering, the gray pokémon slid a tendril under the penguin and hoisted him up with it. Once he was standing, she brushed him off with the tendril, cleaning away the milk.

His face entirely red, Piplup huffed. "[Th-Thanks, I guess…]" He quickly fled the scene.

With the space cleared, the tendril-covered pokémon began to gracefully sweep the entire area, cleaning it free of milk. She did such a good job, in fact, that the floor was left sparkling, much to everyone's amazement.

"Ooh, I wonder what pokémon _that_ is…!" Dawn said, reaching for her bag. After grabbing at thin air, she made a noise of distress. "Oh no, I left it in the back!" She ran away elsewhere, nearly bumping into Ash on the way, who had just arrived.

"Huh? What happened with Dawn?" he asked, his face now free of ink. "I was cleanin' my face in the back, so- _Are those new pokémon!?_ _Awesome!_ " He excitedly reached for his pokédex pocket, as he called it. After his hand hit apron, he made a noise of distress. "Oh no, I left it in the back!" He ran away, after Dawn.

Summer gasped. "H-Hey, you can't run away during the shift! _Come baaack!_ " she called out, running after them.

Pikachu felt his face heat up as the customers began talking amongst themselves, clearly confused. Oh, why did he have to have such a goofy team? Looking at Buneary, he saw that she was giggling to herself, so at least someone was amused.

He glanced at Winter and the other maids. They all seemed to be trying their hardest to remain professional, despite the show. Especially the white one, whose smile seemed to be growing bigger as Pikachu made eye contact with her. He guessed that she was happy to meet some other maids. How friendly of her.

Before anyone could say anything else, a man poked his head through the door. "I'm baaaack~" he sang.

Winter turned on her heel and bowed towards him. "Welcome home, master~"

Her pokémon mimicked her movements, spinning around on the spot. "[Welcome home, master~]" they all chimed in perfect harmony.

"[Hey, because of that piplup, I still didn't get my hot milk!]" a grumpig from a nearby table complained loudly. "[You girls are pretty, but I'm thirsty, maaaaan!]"

"[And I want my icy milk!]" a croconaw from a different table angrily proclaimed. "[If I don't get my ice cold calcium soon, I'm gonna eat my trainer's wallet before you get paid!]"

Ears pricking, Nora, the gray maid, jumped into the air. Stars erupted from the bottom of her tendrils, rocketing her through the air and towards the counter.

Seeing movement in the corner of his eye, Pikachu looked back at the maids to see the black one twirl on the spot. Before he could decide what she was doing, she vanished without a trace.

While she and the gray maid were gone, the green one, Flower, had begun to wave her leafy arms around. Petals shot out from the top of her head, going upwards in a spiral.

"[What's even going on?]" Buneary mumbled, looking confused.

"[I have no clue…]" Pikachu replied. "[It doesn't really look like they're working…]"

She rubbed her chin in thought. "[Maybe they're trying to distract 'em so much that they stop being thirsty.]"

He chuckled. "[Um… an award-winning plan.]"

She huffed in mock-offence. Before she could respond, however, a glass and a mug flew through the air above them. Coming from the direction of the counter Nora was occupying. They sailed onwards until they hit the tornado of petals, which caught them, keeping them suspended in midair.

The black maid suddenly warped in next to Flower, a pitcher of milk on her tray. With a spin, she threw it towards the petal tornado, which carried it, much like the glasses. It didn't spill a single drop as it swirled around inside the flowery storm.

While a bright white glow surrounded her, the water-type maid jumped high into the air, straight towards Flower's attack. Instead of being bombarded by the grass-type move, she simply weaved through the petals. After constantly zipping in different directions, she stopped glowing and allowed herself to fall back down head-first, pitcher in her paws and the glass and mug between her toes. Upside down, she poured the milk from the pitcher in such a way that g-forces made it go upwards into the mug, before spilling out into the glass under it. When both were full, she flipped around and lobbed everything upwards. Landing, she collected everything on her tray.

Pikachu gasped at the spectacle, along with the audience of customers. Jeez, he'd never be able to pull something like that off in a million years. Even his cool, show off-y father would've been impressed.

"[H-Holy tap dancing Arceus…]" Buneary mumbled, eyes wide.

"[Took the words right out of my mouth…]" Pikachu replied.

Allowing a small pause, the maid delicately picked up the mug while balancing the tray with her other paw. Concentrating, she forced a small, continuous fountain of water out of her paw, which went up the sides of the mug. Notably, steam was pouring out from the water, implying that it was hot. A short while passed until the milk in the mug showed signs of boiling, at which point the maid cut off her attack and threw the mug into the air to her side. Grabbing a smaller, differently shaped tray she'd had tucked away, she swiped outwards with it, releasing a glowing, playing card-shaped attack. While it flew towards the grumpig customer, the mug cleanly landed on it, hitching a ride. They continued onwards until the attack slowed and disintegrated directly in front of the customer, dropping the milk right in front of him.

The pig beamed brightly. "[Hot milk! At last! Maaaan, I owe ya!]" he called out.

The maid gave him a delicate smile in response. One that briefly turned proud when everyone began to applaud.

Clapping along with everyone else, Pikachu found himself extra impressed, and not just because of the gymnastics. "[Wow, how'd she do that with _just_ Water Gun!?]" he said.

"[Yeah… so _awesome!_ ]" Buneary replied, also applauding. "[And that energy card thing was _such_ a delight, too!]"

"[Yeah…]" He tilted his head when the maid picked up the glass of milk on her tray, holding it in the same way she'd held the mug earlier. "[Wait… she's gonna do it again? But that croconaw wanted-]"

He shut up when the maid produced a glittery mist from her paws. It swirled around the glass, rapidly fogging it up. She kept it up for a short while before stopping, revealing a frosty glass of milk. Satisfied, she sent it away on another card-shaped wave of energy.

"[… Never mind, she has everything,]" Pikachu muttered in awe, amusing Buneary.

When it landed in front of the croconaw, he snorted and grabbed it. "[Yeah, damn straight, maid!]" he retorted, earning annoyed looks and responses from nearby customers.

A scowl began to form on the maid's face, but it went away just as quickly. Nodding to herself, she thrust her tray upwards, sending the empty pitcher high into the air. It went into Flower's tornado of petals, which still spiraled above her, before being flung away towards the counter. Before it could crash into anything, Nora went flying upwards while twirling, grabbing it on her tray. She fell back to the counter, though after a beat, she flew through the air using her stars again, back towards the other maids. A move that resembled Swift, now that Pikachu was watching carefully.

Glancing back at the other maids, he saw Flower hold her tray above her head with both leafy hands. The black maid teleported above her, landing on top of her tray like a platform before holding her own one skywards. The white maid, now glowing faintly again, jumped an impressive distance into the air. Landing on top of the black maid's tray, she also held her own tray above her, just as Nora came downwards, landing onto it perfectly. Finishing the tower, she gave a delicate bow, pleasant smile unmoving.

Naturally, the café erupted into a round of applause. Clapping himself, Pikachu looked around. Buneary was in total awe, so much so that she didn't even join in with applauding. Winter was smiling pleasantly, though Spring had a wide-eyed look of admiration plastered on her face.

Noticing her, Winter smiled pleasantly. "Oh yes, did I mention that my darling little maids also double as entertainers?" she asked. "It's how business keeps booming in _my_ café~"

"Wow…" Spring muttered, even more in awe. "… Maybe after today's finished, we should take the miltanks out for some training."

Winter hummed amusedly. "A good idea, but don't expect results overnight. My pokémon have trained for this profession since the day they hatched. One could even say they were born to be maids~" She paused. "… Though not literally."

Pikachu sighed lightly. She'd missed the perfect chance to say they were 'maid for the job'. Oh well, not everyone could be into that sort of humor. It was something that only true dads could fully appreciate, or so he'd heard, anyway.

As the crowd continued to praise the maids, he realized something and scooted closer to Buneary. "[Hey… Bun?]" he said quietly.

She didn't respond, so he tried again. Getting nothing for a second time, he glanced at her curiously. She seemed to still be staring at the maids with her paws to her mouth, eyes wide and sparkling.

He tilted his head. Huh. It was strange for her to ignore him. It made sense, though. She did really like pretty things, and these maids certainly were pretty. Especially after a show like that.

He held his paw closer to her ear and clicked his fingers. "[Yo, Bun?]" he said.

She jumped in surprise with a yelp. "[O-Oh, um… hey, Pika, what's up?]" she asked, looking at him.

He smiled sheepishly. "[Eheh, sorry, Bun. You were kind of spacing out there. You must really like those maids, huh?]"

Blushing lightly, she tapped her paws together. "[Ahaha… a little…]"

He smirked slightly. "[Thought so. Um…]" He gestured towards a different part of the café. "[With the maids here, d'you wanna take a break, by, um… doing some different work?]"

She laughed. "[Sounds like a fabulous deal, for sure. Getting off work to work some more!]"

He laughed, too. "[Well, you know. I meant doing something that's not guarding the door for people to greet.]"

She nodded enthusiastically. "[Yeah, I get'cha. Okay, let's go!]"

They both snuck away as everyone continued to praise the maids. Once a fair distance away, Pikachu turned to face the rabbit following behind him. "[So… what're you gonna go and do, now?]" he asked.

"[I, uh… dunno,]" she replied. "[I've been greeting customers for so long that I kind of don't know how to do anything else. Ahaha…]"

"[Ahh… eheh, makes sense.]"

Her eyes lit up. "[Ooh, y'know what? I'd become an expert in no time flat if I had a cute tutor like _you_ guiding me along.]"

Trying to ignore the sweat going down the side of his head, he gave her a curious look. "[Um… what do ya mean? You wanna work alongside me?]"

"[Bingo! Would you mind?]"

He tapped his fingers against his apron in thought. The café was still fairly busy, but it was notably quieter, now. Plus, those maids were here to help out if things got hectic again, so… "[… Yeah, why not?]" he replied, nodding. "[Four paws are better than two, as they say.]"

She beamed. "[Ooh, fabulous! Okay, then! Lead on, sensei!]"

He smiled in amusement. "[Alright, my… um, 'student' in PokéJapanese. Let's go get you a tray!]"

She giggled. "[Hai~]"

Unable to avoid a chuckle of his own, he led her over to the counter. He had to admit, he was excited to get a work buddy, so he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Even as Ash and Dawn almost crashed into them while thundering past, their pokédexes held high.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 09/07 (July)/2017

 **Word count:** 3,403

 **Times the word 'milk' was used:** 18

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Maids make everything better! Even Fire Emblem: Fates! I'm lying, of course. The maids in that game are pretty awful. Felicia's crap-tier (without a magical shuriken, and even then…), and Flora's really frickin' boring. And the latter can only marry Corrin, for some dumb reason, even though she clearly has a crush on Jacob. Stupid, garbage ice-tribe maids.

I say all this when I married Felicia in Birthright and ravengal married Flora in Conquest (not that there's many good choices for girls in that game), so… well, y'know.

… Oh, right, the fic. Well, hope you enjoyed the new maids in this chappie more than I enjoyed the FE:F ones! XP The chapter went through quite a few rewrites, and I'm still a bit worried about it, so lemmie know if I screwed up somewhere!

 **Shameless promotion:** Today, for no real reason (other than the fact that Brock dressed up like a maid in it, for reasons only known to him), I'm-a gonna reference **Pokemon Fright Night** , by **PokeMaster64**! It's a fun Halloween-based fic, where Pikachu, Buneary and their friends decide to investigate a strange, totally-not-haunted house. I haven't read it in a while, but I remember it being a fun, cute, amusing experience. One with Piplup at his usual level of doofiness, which I can always appreciate! _Always!_

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** The light **metalized** into four strange pokémon'

(Apparently, the light turned to metal. I can't wait for it to get a character slot in my favourite kart racer, alongside regular light, and baby light! … and pinkgold light! … and actual gold light!)

 **#2:** **'** The light **materialized** into four strange pokémon'

(Lol, this sentence was wrong, anyway. It implies that a strange light appeared inside the four pokémon)

 **#3:** 'She kept it up for a short while before stopping, revealing a frosty glass of **water'**

(She somehow turned milk into water! I wonder if she can then turn it into wine, like some kinda maid Jesus…)

Welp, tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Partners in milk!_


	14. Milked For All It's Worth

**Chapter 14:** _Milked For All It's Worth_

* * *

"[Heads up, Bun!]" Pikachu called out, throwing his tray of milks upwards. He had to balance himself to avoid spilling the other tray on his head.

Buneary, who was standing on the table above him, reached over and caught it. She then turned towards the seated customers, out of view. "[Here ya go, masters! Fresh milk!]" she chimed.

"[Ahh, fresh milk is the best!]" a lucario replied before making hearty glugging noises. With a satisfied sigh, he continued. "[Thanks. I guess…]"

After receiving some more thanks from the jackal's trainer, Buneary went to the edge of the table and carefully dropped the tray. Pikachu caught it, making sure to balance it so that none of the empty glasses toppled over. Fully stable, he walked over to a different table. As he made his way over, he saw Buneary gracefully leaping through the air from her current table over to the one he was headed towards.

Once he'd reached his destination, he reorganized his trays. Now holding the one with mugs, a few chocolate milks and some hot milk in a teapot, he shouted "[Next one!]" and tossed it upwards.

Grabbing it, Buneary turned towards the customers. "[Here's your milk, masters~! Nice and hot!]"

"Such beauty!" the man replied happily. "Thanks, friend! I'll pay you back. Promise!"

"[Er, n-no problem!]" she replied, sounding somewhat flustered. After accepting more praise from others and some empty mugs, she ran down the long table. Following her, Pikachu heard her greet the next customer. "[Here's your choco milk… um, master.]"

"[Ooh, now I'm definitely glad my trainer brought us here for some milk~]" another buneary with a much gentler voice chimed. "[Thank you!]"

"[Ahaha, um, d-don't mention it,]" Buneary responded, amusing Pikachu with how much rougher hers was. Considering how surprisingly brawny she was, it was only to be expected. Come to think of it, it even reminded him of Ash's voice, strangely enough. Maybe that's why it had grown on him quite a bit, as of late. Non-romantically, of course…

With another thanks or two, she hopped off the table and landed next to Pikachu. She brought her tray containing some empty mugs and glasses along with her. "[Done!]"

He nodded. "[Cool, then it's time to recharge!]"

"[Sure thing!]" she replied back, running over to the counter.

Pikachu followed closely behind her, running with his hind legs.

As they jumped up onto the counter, Ambipom came over to collect their empty glasses. Picking everything up, she sniggered at them, making the fur on Pikachu's neck stand on end.

"[Man, I saw you two working together like a dream team, just then,]" she started. "[Been sneaking in some practice after your make-out sessions?]"

Pikachu slapped his now-empty tray against his head. It felt cold to his warm face. "[For flip's sake, Ambipom…! That's, like, your third 'me and Buneary' comment today!]"

"[Yeah, you're becoming _really_ obsessed,]" Buneary added, looking unimpressed.

"[Not as obsessed as you two are with each other!]" the monkey continued, snickering away.

Pikachu groaned and turned away. "[And there's the fourth…]"

She sounded like she was going to continue. However, she never got the chance. Flower, the grassy maid, hopped closer to Ambipom, tray of empty glasses in hand.

"[Please excuse me, miss…]" she started with a bow, looking everywhere but into Ambipom's eyes, "[but I'm… um, I would be very grateful if you could wash these cups.]" She bowed again. "[P-Please. If you don't mind.]"

"[O-Oh, er… sure,]" Ambipom replied, looking awkward. She took the glasses in her tail hands along with Pikachu's and Buneary's.

The grass-type bowed again. "[Thank you, miss.]"

Ambipom grinned exasperatedly. "[No need to be so formal, girly.]"

With the slightest hint of a worried frown, Flower bowed again. "[S-Sorry, miss.]"

The monkey sighed amusedly. "[It's cool. Anyway, catch you later, you guys!]" She ran away in the direction of the sink.

Pikachu, along with Buneary and Flower, gave a farewell. With that, they lingered in the area.

"[Um… so, how're you holding up, Flower?]" Pikachu asked.

She gave him a pleasant look. "[Quite fine, thank you,]" she replied.

"[Glad to hear it!]" he responded, smiling. He had to admit, it was a nice change of pace meeting someone so formal. Though something inside told him he'd find her a bit exasperating to be around all the time, no thanks to her awkwardness.

"[Hey, guys!]" Turtwig called suddenly, appearing to their side on top of the counter.

Everyone in the group greeted him.

"[Here for your next job, Turtwig?]" Buneary asked.

"[Yeah,]" he replied, "[the group over there wants some soy milk and almond milk and other non-milks.]"

She gave him a blank look. "[… Huh? Do we… even sell those?]"

"[Yeah, why would we sell fake milk at a milk café?]" Pikachu asked, equally as confused.

"[Don't ask me,]" the tortoise replied. "[Anyway, I'd better get on and find some before…]" His eyes widened in horror as he saw something to Pikachu's side. "[Oh no… Guys, we have a problem!]"

The mouse raised an eyebrow. Hearing something, he looked in the same direction as Turtwig. His eyes also widened when he saw several customers at a table all chanting " _Milk! Milk! Milk!_ "

Oh no… milk hooligans. This was the fourth group of them the team had encountered today.

" _We want milk! We want milk!_ " they continued, pounding the table with their fists and waving heaps of money around. " _Give us milk or give us death!_ "

Notably around them, other customers were looking annoyed, or perturbed.

"[Guess the fake milk's going to have to wait,]" Pikachu mumbled. "[The last thing we want is angry customers like _those_ getting milk-starved. The last group like that started throwing their glasses around!]"

"[Er, o-okay!]" Turtwig and Buneary responded, looking frantic.

Flower said nothing, just watching the scene unfold calmly. Pikachu was mildly surprised, but he supposed it probably had something to do with her training.

"[What kind of milk do they even want?]" Buneary continued.

"[… Um, good question,]" Pikachu replied, scratching his head.

"[I… guess I could go and ask them,]" Turtwig suggested.

"[You can't do that!]" Buneary replied, panicked. "[They'll tear you apart!]"

"[But what _else_ can we-?]"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a small yellow tray flew past them, spinning in place in the air next to Flower. She reached up and pulled a note from it as it boomeranged away again. Looking in the direction it was headed, Pikachu saw the white-furred maid, paws delicately folded across her apron. He guessed that she'd taken the orders of the milk hooligans while he and the others hadn't been looking. When her yellow tray came back to her, she snatched it out of the air and went back to her delicate pose, tray held to her front.

Pikachu had to admit, it was quite an amazing feat. Considering that when Piplup had tried talking to previous milk hooligans, he'd been waved around by his coat tail like a ragdoll. Until Pikachu had zapped them, anyway. Something he wanted to avoid doing again, unless he had to.

Looking back at Flower, he saw her reading the note she'd been given. She nodded enthusiastically and hopped towards the milk tap, grabbing some empty glasses on the way. Throwing them upwards, she reached forwards to fire a huge, pretty stream of pink flower petals. They flew towards a shelf and dragged a bunch of flavor packets away, which then sailed towards her on the petals like a river.

When they were close enough, she gave a wave of her leafy hand. The stream of petals curved into themselves to create a midair ring shape, catching the glasses she'd tossed upwards earlier. She continued to wave her hands around, almost as if she were conducting a symphony.

Many eyes in the restaurant were now on her and her petal show. Even the milk hooligans seemed to have quietened down a little to watch the event unfolding.

Pikachu himself was in awe. He saw Buneary looking just as impressed. Turtwig, however, just tilted his head.

"[So, er…]" he began, "[that's a great trick and all, ma'am, but, um… we kinda need to... serve the customers, and…]"

The glasses suddenly fell out of the vortex of petals and onto the tray in Flower's hand, filled with their appropriate mixtures. Twirling the tray around on one hand, she held it under the milk tap's nozzle. She continually turned the tap on and off while the glasses rotated past, quickly filling them with milk. All of which gradually changed color as the rapid milky torrent mixed with the flavoring.

In seconds, all the glasses were full. Stopping the tap, Flower jumped into the air while twirling rapidly. At the peak of the jump, she conjured up an Energy Ball with her free hand. Placing the tray on it, she fired it away with a final spin.

"[… Okay, never mind,]" Turtwig said, blinking blankly.

As Flower made a graceful landing, her Energy Ball rapidly approached the table of the milk hooligans. Once it was directly above them, the yellow tray from before flew upwards, intercepting it. A green, firework-like explosion followed as the tray of drinks fell downwards. Instead of crashing, it landed in the outstretched paw of the white-furred maid from earlier, with not a drop of milk being spilled. Her yellow tray fell into her other outstretched paw shortly after.

All the patrons applauded, including the hooligans. Pikachu, along with Buneary, also joined in. Even Turtwig looked hugely impressed, now.

"[Wow… she was something else,]" Pikachu said.

"[Yeah…]" Buneary mumbled, face somewhat reddened. Not that he blamed her. It'd been quite the show.

"[No kidding,]" Turtwig replied. "[I've gotta get her to give me some Energy Ball tips! I'd even razzle and dazzle Breloom with skills like that. Kenny's, anyway.]"

"[For sure!]" Pikachu replied, smiling.

"[Oh, _come the flip on!_ ]" a shrill voice nearby shouted. Looking to the side, Pikachu's suspicions were confirmed. Piplup was next to him, doing his flustered dance, his drink-filled tray on the floor to his side. "[How the _flip_ am I supposed to keep up with skills like _that!?_ Aghh, I hate show-offs!]" the penguin continued.

"[Hypocrite…]" Buneary murmured, sounding somewhat amused. Thankfully, the penguin didn't hear her.

"[O-Oh, I'm… sorry, miss,]" Flower replied, close enough to hear the penguin's loud complaints. She bowed. "[I'll try not to upstage you in the future. Sorry.]"

"[What do you _mean_ 'miss!?']" Piplup screeched, his flipper flailing going into overdrive. "[I'm a _guy_ maid!]"

Looking slightly panicked, she bowed multiple times in a row. "[I-I-I'm ever so sorry, sir! I won't let it happen again, sir!]"

He calmed substantially, though with an exasperated look. "[Awww, don't be so apologetic! I can't yell and screech when I feel bad…]" He paused. "[… Not that I _do_ yell and screech!]"

She began to apologize again, much to his annoyance.

"[Thank Arceus…]" Pachirisu muttered from next to Turtwig, making him jump.

"[Gah! When'd you get here?]" the tortoise asked, catching his breath.

"[Sorry, Soil Shell,]" the squirrel replied, chuckling. "[I just wanted to hang with you dudes after those maids came in and took all the jobs. It's kind of pointless when those five are better than a team of _us_ posers.]"

"[Five?]" Pikachu asked, head tilted.

"[Winter included.]"

"[Oh, right.]"

"[Hey, we're not posers…]" Buneary mumbled, pouting. "[I thought we were doing a pretty good job.]"

Pikachu expected Piplup to irritably pipe in, too, though he seemed busy trying to stop Flower's endless apologies.

"[So you think we're good at managing this fetish café?]" Pachirisu continued.

Pikachu felt a flush coming on. "[F-Fetish café!? What!?]" he spluttered.

"[What's that supposed to mean?]" Buneary responded, also looking embarrassed. "[This isn't a whips and chains establishment, you oddball.]"

The very thought of what she said made Pikachu's blush increase some more. Dear lord, what an image…

"[Do you even know what that word means, kid?]" Turtwig asked, looking weirded out. "[Maids are pretty innocent, compared to… well, stuff like what Buneary said.]"

"[To you and me, sure…]" the squirrel explained, "[but believe me, the milk ain't the only reason boys come in here. Why do you think the whole 'welcome home, master' and 'we're back' thing's a thing?]"

"[B-But Brock said it himself,]" Pikachu retorted, "[it's just to make the customers feel relaxed and comfortable.]"

Pachirisu laughed. "[Oh, I'll bet it is! No, seriously, it's all the rage in Japan, from what I've heard. Cafés filled with waitresses in maid costumes who act in character, while serving overly interested men. And I guess women, if they're into stuff like that.]"

Pikachu's maid costume suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred more pounds. Well… that certainly explained why these cafés were 'like a second home' to Brock.

His face began to burn with embarrassment, so he slapped his tray to it. Did this mean everyone in the room had been looking at him in a lusty light this entire time? Ohhhh, that was just his frigging luck…

"[Oh, now look what you've done, Pachirisu!]" Buneary chided. "[You made things awkward for Pikachu!]"

"[Oh, yeah…]" Pachirisu mumbled sheepishly. "[Sorry, Mascot. I keep forgetting to watch what I say around you. What with that extreme bashful nature of yours…]"

Not knowing how to reply, Pikachu simply groaned.

"[Y'know, if it makes you feel better,]" the squirrel continued, "[at least we're not dancing around, too. I remember that being a gimmick of some weird café I once visited with a spinda in it.]"

Pikachu let his tray down enough to peer over it. "[… What kind of dancing?]"

"[Er, I dunno. I just remember lots of hip shaking. Like hula-ing, or something.]"

"[Hey, there you go, Pika!]" Buneary chimed in. "[At least you're not giving everyone a show while you work, eh?]"

With an amused huff, Pikachu let his tray down even further. "[I guess…]"

"[And they're calling us cute more than they are attractive,]" Turtwig added. "[So yeah, they came for… um, 'service' and got cute pokémon instead.]"

Exhaling softly, Pikachu put his tray down. "[Yeah, you're right. There's nothing to worry about, really.]"

The others smiled at him. He noticed Buneary huffing lightly, almost like a sigh of sorts. Guessing that she was getting exasperated by the awkward conversation, Pikachu chose not to overthink it.

Attention turned away from the conversation, Pachirisu eyed up Piplup's tray while he continued to calm Flower down. Like tweezers, the squirrel's tail spikes went around a glass of regular milk on the penguin's tray while he was distracted. Stealing it, Pachirisu began to sip on it.

"[H-Hey, what're you doing…!?]" Turtwig said irritably in a hushed voice. "[That's not yours…!]"

"[Yeah, what gives?]" Pikachu added, frowning.

"[It's for table eight, right?]" Pachirisu asked.

Turtwig blinked. "[Huh? Well, I don't know.]" He looked over at the table in question, along with Pikachu and Buneary. The customers on it were glancing around eagerly. "[I guess they look thirsty enough, yeah.]"

"[Alright, good.]" The squirrel greedily gulped down the rest of it like it was the elixir of life, or something. Then, ignoring Pikachu, Buneary and Turtwig's annoyed responses, Pachirisu put the glass back onto Piplup's tray with some clever tail usage. "[Hey, Bubbles!]"

"[What? What's up?]" Piplup asked, turning to face Pachirisu.

The squirrel pointed at the waiting customers. "[Table eight's waiting! They want their weird sparkling milk. The kind that's carbonated. And not regular. Like any that you may or may not have poured recently.]"

Piplup gasped and picked up his tray. "[Oh, right, yeah! I'd better go and fill one up, then!]"

Taking this as a cue to do some work herself, Flower offered Piplup one more bow and apology before hopping away elsewhere.

Exhaling exasperatedly, he picked up his tray with both flippers and waddled away. "[Anyway, yeah. Thanks, Pachirisu!]" he called back.

"[Don't mention it!]" Pachirisu replied, waving him away.

"[Huh… that was nice of you,]" Buneary replied, sounding legitimately surprised.

"[Tee hee, hey, I can't be a jerk all the time, right? Bubbles' had it rough today, so I'll save him a little embarrassment. This time.]"

"[But it's okay to try and embarrass me, instead?]" Pikachu mumbled exasperatedly.

"[Not my fault you're a prude! Everything embarrasses you so much that it's almost worrying.]"

Pikachu looked off to the side, arms crossed. "[Hmph. W-Who says?]"

He noticed Buneary patting her paws together. "[Um, well… he has a-]"

"[Who's worrying about what, now?]" Chimchar asked, coming closer to the group. "[… And why aren't you guys working?]"

Buneary exhaled, seemingly dropping whatever she was going to say.

"[Pikachu's getting embarrassed about stuff. As he does…]" Turtwig replied.

She smirked lightly. "[Ah, of course. Sounds about right.]"

"[H-Hey…]" Pikachu mumbled.

"[And we're not working because… um…]" Turtwig continued.

"[We're pretty much slacking off,]" Pachirisu piped in.

"[W-What!?]" Pikachu exclaimed, along with Buneary and Turtwig.

"[That so…?]" Chimchar said, eyebrow raised.

"[N-Now, that's not exactly…]" Turtwig began, his forehead covered in sweat. "[I-I mean…]"

"[Yeah,]" Pachirisu replied, shrugging. "[May as well tell the truth. There's nothing to do because of those maid professionals taking our jobs. So we're just kickin' back and chillin'.]"

The orange monkey shrugged. "[Heh, well, fair enough.]" She grinned. "[To be fair, that's the exact reason I'm slacking off, too.]"

Pachirisu giggled. "[Great minds think alike!]"

"[… So you're not mad at us?]" Buneary asked cautiously.

She shrugged. "[Why would I be? I'm not your boss.]"

Wiping sweat off his head, Turtwig pulled an exasperated look. "[Hard to tell, with all the ordering around you've been doing…]"

She gave a sassy roll of her eyes.

"[Dunno, why you're complaining,]" Pachirisu interjected. "[We're pokémon. Aren't we used to taking orders?]"

"[… It's different when a trainer does it,]" the tortoise replied, pouting.

Chuckling, Chimchar waved him off. "[All the same… we might not be professional maids, but I think we've all earned some congratulations, so… um, congratulations!]" she said, giving them a thumbs up.

The small group cheered back in response.

"[You too, Chimchar!]" Pikachu replied. "[Some of us appreciate you keeping us in line, at least.]"

"[Aww, thanks!]" Chimchar responded, smirking at Turtwig's suddenly sheepish smile. "[Gotta admit, though… out of everyone, you and Buneary's teamwork has easily shined through the most.]"

"[R-Really?]" he asked, face reddening.

"[Gosh, really?]" Buneary asked, paws to her mouth in awe.

"[Yeah!]" Chimchar replied. "[You're a real dream team, so go, you!]"

"[Ahaha, hee, thanks!]" the rabbit responded with an excited hop. She took hold of Pikachu's arm. "[I owe it all to my awesome teacher, here!]"

"[Eheheh… um… thanks. Yeah…]" Pikachu responded, feeling beads of sweat begin to pool on his forehead.

"[All aboard the PikaBun train~]" Pachirisu chimed. "[I know _I'm_ totally hitching a ride!]"

Seeing the others' amused looks, the sweat began to pour down Pikachu's face. "[Eheh… oh you random r-romanticist, you…]"

Letting go of him, Buneary only hummed pleasantly in response. An interesting reaction… though, like most of her reactions to things, Pikachu tried not to think about it too much. All the same, Chimchar was right. He and Buneary were an awesome maid duo!

Chuckling alongside Turtwig, the monkey shrugged. "[In any case, you certainly did better than a…]" She cleared her throat, "[… certain penguin.]"

Eyes widening, Pikachu glanced around, hoping Piplup hadn't been around to hear that. Thankfully, he hadn't been. Sighing in both relief and exasperation, Pikachu gave the monkey a disapproving glance. "[Hey, c'mon, Chimchar. That's not nice…]"

She rolled her eyes sassily. "[Maybe not… but good lord, he's running my patience dry with his constant bumbles.]"

"[Still…]"

"[Hey, think what you want about the guy,]" Pachirisu started, "[but at least he's dedicated! I don't think I've seen him take a single break. Not even now, when the rest of us are.]"

A loud crash followed by a familiar shrill shriek pierced the air.

The squirrel blinked. "[… I guess he's done _some_ form of breaking, but… well, y'know. Eheh…]"

Pikachu sighed again, along with the others. Chimchar especially.

"[No kidding…]" she murmured.

After a short pause, Buneary finally spoke up. "[Welp… if Piplup's gonna do work, then I guess I'd better get some done myself!]"

"[Yeah, same,]" Turtwig replied. "[I'll be an even worse maid than Piplup if I'm just sitting around doing nothing. No offense to him.]"

"[Heh, well, he's an inspiration, if nothing else,]" Chimchar added. "[Alright then, sure, count me in.]"

Shaking his head disapprovingly at the continued Piplup criticism, Pikachu shrugged. "[Yeah, me too.]"

"[What'll we do, though?]" Pachirisu asked. "[Those maids are basically doing ten jobs, each.]"

The small group pondered the squirrel's point for a while. Eventually, Pikachu piped up. "[We could stir some flavoring into the drinks, I guess. Saves the girls some time and trouble.]"

Buneary grinned. "[Ooh, so then the maids can just come and grab the milk as soon as it's ordered, right?]" she asked.

He nodded. "[Yup!]"

"[Huh… decent idea!]" the squirrel replied, smiling. "[And that's why you're our mascot!]"

"[I concur~]" Buneary added.

Pikachu smiled somewhat bashfully. "[Oh, eheh, thanks.]"

"[But what if no one orders the milk we prepared?]" Turtwig asked, flicking his head backwards to readjust the frills on his head. "[It'll be a waste of good milk, won't it?]"

Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu glanced out at the rest of the café, followed by everyone else. It was filled to the brim with people, all of which seemed eager for more milky goodness. The professional maids were working frantically to give everyone service, unwavering smiles plastered on their faces. Noticeably, despite their style and grace, they still had to constantly pause to return to the counter and mess around with the milk.

"[… Y'know what?]" Chimchar started, turning back towards the others. "[I think this place is _far_ too busy for that to be an issue. Each time we make a milk, it'll probably end up in a customer's hands seconds later.]"

"[Yeah, probably,]" Turtwig replied.

"[Alrighty then… let's go mix some milks!]" Pikachu exclaimed with a short hop and a paw in the air.

Everyone cheered and followed along, empty trays on hand, tail or shell.

Suddenly, however, Buneary stopped. "[Wait! What about the _soy_ milk and stuff?]" she asked.

Pikachu flopped to the ground, still holding his tray. "[… Oh, _crud,_ I forgot!]" Getting to his feet, he ran in the direction of the fridge, where the artificial milk was kept. "[I'll help you guys out with the mixing, later. I've gotta go and finish a job, first!]" he shouted back, jumping down from the counter.

With chuckling from some of them, the group gave him some farewells. Buneary, however, chose to hop down after him, still carrying her tray. "[Hold on, I'll help ya, Pika!]" she called as she came closer.

Opening the fridge, he gave her a smile. "[Oh, well… if you want, thanks!]" he replied.

Returning his smile, she jumped upwards to grab some glasses. Pikachu grabbed some fake milks from the fridge and closed the door as Buneary landed next to him.

His smile grew wider as he got to work on unscrewing the top of a milk. They may not have been professional maids, but they certainly made one heck of a team.

… He briefly considered saying a 'maid' pun out loud, but he barely stopped himself. He didn't quite want to subject her to 'dad humor'.

"[Man…]" Buneary started, unscrewing one of the bottles, "[y'know, it's days like these that make me so glad I wasn't born with Klutz.]"

Pouring his bottle of milk into a glass, Pikachu tilted his head. "[ _With_ klutz? Not _a_ klutz?]"

"[Nope! 'With'! Bunearys who aren't lucky enough to get Run Away as an ability have to make do with Klutz, instead.]"

"[Oh dear… what does it do?]"

"[Well… it messes up our fingers,]" she said, wiggling them for effect.

Pikachu's eyes opened wide. "[W-Whoa! You can _move_ those!?]"

She giggled, picking up the small bottle. "[Of course! Haven't you ever seen me do it before?]"

Cheeks warming slightly, he rubbed the back of his head. "[Honestly… I never really paid attention.]"

"[Ahaha, oh you…!]" She began to pour the contents of the bottle into a glass. "[But yeah! It makes the fingers all static and unmovable, meaning we're not very good at holding things. Especially not in battle…]" Emptying the bottle, she put it to the side. "[Oh, might affect our toes, too, but I dunno.]"

He grimaced. "[Jeez, that sounds _awful!_ Why would nature be so cruel to your species?]"

She shrugged. "[No idea, honestly… but it ain't _allll_ bad! Whoever has Klutz tends to get a bit of a muscle boost, too. Like it's making up for it, or something!]"

"[Honestly, I think I'd prefer having the ability to pick stuff up…]" he replied, flexing his own fingers as he gained a newfound appreciation for them.

She giggled again before shrugging. "[Ah well, at least neither of us are like Turtwig, with those… 'hooves' of his.]" She paused. "[… Though I did see him pick something up with 'em the other day… somehow.]"

"[Huh… yeah, I think I did, too.]" He scratched his head. "[Yet to figure out how he managed that.]"

Agreeing amusedly, she focused her attention to unscrewing a particularly tricky bottle. Now that he was paying attention, he actually saw her using her three fingers individually as she did it. He couldn't stop watching out of fascination. It was like when Ambipom had gained an extra hand due to evolving. It was incredibly bizarre seeing a new feature of a friend that hadn't been there before. Or, in this case, one he hadn't seen before.

As Ambipom crossed his mind, his eyes darted around. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the monkey in the distance, her attention seemingly half on him and half on the glasses she was washing.

He turned his head away as he felt his cheeks heat up. Freaking heck, he was sure Ambipom was going to pick on him for this, later. Oh, goody… Still, that said, he noticed that she hadn't grinned as widely as usual. Had she not acknowledged him and Buneary standing next to each other? Or Pikachu's staring? He really hoped so-

"[Hey, Pikachu! You there?]" Buneary asked, her tray in her paws. "[We filled the glasses, so it's time to go feed 'em some milk!]"

Blinking, Pikachu hastily scrambled around to pick up his tray. "[Y-Yeah, sorry! Um, let's head off, then!]"

Nodding, she hopped onto the counter, shortly followed by him. Jumping down onto the opposite side of the counter, they quickly made their way to the customers. Thankfully, they weren't as impatient as the milk hooligans from before, so delivering their milk to them was a cinch. Especially with his and Buneary's combined forces making things easier.

With the milk delivered, the duo calmly made their way back to the counter, occasionally weaving around the feet of the patrons. Moving along, they spotted Piplup, who had a huge teapot on his tray.

Noticing Pikachu and Buneary, he waved towards them, only to lose his balance and begin staggering backwards. He stumbled in Marina's direction, though the white-furred maid spun out of the way in a fancy manner. Just as the penguin fell onto his rear where she'd been a second ago.

He looked in pain, and the teapot had fallen off the tray. Miraculously, however, the teapot was intact. Looking at the steam pouring out of the spout, it seemed that the contents inside were alright, too.

Now standing in front of him, the white-furred maid offered him a paw. "[Please excuse me, madam, but would you like a hand?]" she asked, voice feminine, yet slightly rough.

Grumbling loudly, Piplup pushed her outstretched paw away and slowly sat up. "[ _No_ , thank you! I can handle _myself!_ ]"

Gasping, the maid scowled at him. An act that surprised Pikachu. "[Hey, well, exc _uuus_ e me, _buddy!_ I was just-]" She loudly cleared her throat, seemingly catching herself. "[Er, I-I mean…]" She gave a bow, "[my apologies, miss. I didn't mean to undermine you in any way. I was simply concerned for your safety.]"

"[Uggghh, I'm not a… I'm…]" He sighed heavily, a tired frown beginning to form. "[Eh, whatever… it's fine. Sorry.]"

Pulling a relieved face, she smiled brightly. "[Would you like me to assist-]"

Frown deepening, he hastily picked up the teapot. "[No, I'm fine on my own, thank you very- _Ahhhhhh!_ ]" He flung his arms upwards suddenly, flinging the teapot into the air and accidentally smacking Marina in the nose with his flippers. He blew on them immediately after.

Knocked to the ground, Marina lay there, rubbing her nose with a very strained smile.

Making an exasperated noise, Buneary quickly hopped over.

"[Um…]" Pikachu started, looking up at the teapot still sailing upwards through the air. After a brief, hanging pause, it dropped like a stone. Looking below it, he gasped, blood draining from his face. It was falling towards Piplup, Marina, and Buneary, who were all distracted. If that thing fell onto them and shattered…

Frowning, Pikachu's body practically moved on its own as pure instinct and reflex took over. He jumped towards the table next to him, kicked off it and lunged towards the falling teapot, arms outstretched…

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 14/07 (July)/2017

 **Word count:** 4,882

 **Times the word 'milk' was used:** 52

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** I'm getting sick of the word 'milk', I'll tell ya what. I put Caddicarus to shame.

 **Shameless promotion:** Today, let's talk about **Pikachu and Buneary's Unspoken Love** by **J'LoBuizel.** It takes place post-adventure, and everyone is hanging out at Ash's house. One that he shares with Brock and Dawn.

It's a cute, slice of life fic where Pikachu and Buneary have feelings for each other… but are totally afraid of letting each other know! Thanks to Pachirisu and Buizel's interventions, however, they may have to confess yet! It's very quirky and charming, so I think you guys will like it!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** '"[Heads up, Bun!]" Pikachu called out, throwing his tray of drinks up wards.'

(Throwing trays down a hospital ward. How reckless! I guess it's okay, though, seeing as hospitals only seem to exist in Kanto.)

 **#2:** 'The petals engulfed the shelf before dragging a **bum** '

(Flower's the worst maid. She actively attacks the homeless. I guess that's what happens when you can't pay for milk…)

 **#3:** "[ **'** So we're just **taking** kicking back and chillin'.]"

(Don't take my ability to kick! I'll only be half a Captain Falcon!)

 **#4:** ' All the same, Chimchar was **write.** '

(She is in a fic, I guess.)

 **#5:** "[Man…]" Buneary started, I'm so glad I wasn't born with Klutz.'

(Said I, the narrator. Oh well, it's still true. I would make a shit pokémon, if that were the case.)

 **#6:** 'she wiggled them for effect, **starling** Pikachu.'

(Behold, Buneary's magical fingers that can turn people into birds!)

 **#7:** ' Looking below it, he gasped, blood draining **blood** from his face.'

(Oh no! He's been attacked by vampire blood!)

Welp, that's me done. Time to go and continue maiding! Tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Potatoes and milk!_


	15. Cream Of The Crop

**Chapter 15:** _Cream Of The Crop_

* * *

Hopping closer to Piplup and the watery maid, Buneary sighed. Trust Piplup to burn himself by being a ditz. Still, she supposed that was what happened when people acted surly towards those trying to help.

All the same, someone had to cool his butt off, so it may as well be her. She got herself ready to spit on her paws, to freeze them more easily. However, she paused and extended her unrolled ear as she sensed something was up. Looking up, she saw the teapot that had burned Piplup falling towards her!

Yelping, she instinctively braced herself and prepped an ear. As she did, something yellow, white and black flew overhead. Glancing carefully, her eyes went about as wide as they could go, and her paws found themselves pressed against her open mouth. Pikachu had soared over her, grabbing the teapot by its handle and spout as his maid outfit billowed behind him, almost like a superhero's cape. He continued to soar through the air until his descent, where he spun once and, with a slight squeak of pain, threw the teapot directly upwards. Spinning a few more times, he gracefully landed on his feet, like an acrobat. Putting his paws under his apron, he lifted it high, like a big glove, and cleanly caught the teapot when it came down.

Her mind went a little blank after that. Everything was a blur, except for the gorgeous mouse in front of her, smiling that adorable smile of his while inspecting the teapot he held with his apron.

Heart pounding feverishly, she nearly swooned as her mind constantly replayed the event she'd just witnessed over and over again. Had she died and gone to Heaven at some point in the day? She must have done to be graced with the sight of such a handsome mouse performing such amazing acrobatics. And all in a sexy maid dress, too. Sweet Moltres…

… Thinking about it, she was reminded of the first time she'd met him. The time he'd practically flown through the air and snatched that potato out of the sky, like it had been nothing. He'd come back spinning towards the ground and landing without breaking a single sweat, too… though without tossing the potato, like he'd done this time with the teapot.

Seeing him imitate the same stunt he'd performed all those months ago impressed her to no end. Heck, she didn't care how cool or cute those maids were. They were no match for Pikachu's utter fabulousness.

… Maybe except for the watery one. She was about on par. Just about.

* * *

Standing with the teapot in his apron, Pikachu gave a sigh of relief. That'd been a close one. Part of him had been worried he would mess things up and horribly burn himself, or let everything spill out… but somehow, he'd made it work. Even if his paws were slightly tender, now…

He jolted as a small amount of clapping rang out. Looking around, he saw that everyone in the immediate area who had seen him were applauding him. Looking at his companions, he noticed Buneary and Marina giving him a look of awe. The latter of which was watching while in a sitting up position. Piplup looked like he was mumbling something irritably, eyes turned away.

Getting slightly embarrassed, he smiled awkwardly. "[Um… th-thanks!]" he called back. Honestly, he didn't feel like that had deserved so much attention, but he lapped it up, all the same.

As their clapping died down, he moved over to his friends. Once close enough, he carefully placed the teapot onto Piplup's tray, which was on the floor. "[Um, here you go, buddy. Please be careful next time, alright?]"

The penguin frowned slightly. After a pause, he simply sighed, his look becoming defeated. "[Yeah… I'll try…]" He began to pick the tray up. Immediately, his flipper slipped off the side, thankfully to no real consequence. With a heavier sigh, he just left it there, grumpily waving it off. "[Oh, whatever. I'll try and do something else…]" He walked away from the scene, shoulders slumped.

Look of awe fading, Buneary shook her head, as if clearing it free of something. "[Hey, Piplup, wait! I haven't cooled off your flippers, yet!]" she cried out towards him.

Ignoring her, he just continued walking away until he was lost in a crowd of legs.

Exhaling slowly, Buneary put her paws on her hips, still looking in his direction. Before Pikachu could talk to her, Marina walked closer.

"[Very impressive, madam!]" she said, smiling. "[Have _you_ been trained in the art of being a maid, too? It shows!]"

Speaking to her directly, Pikachu could finally make out her species name, though he couldn't say he recognized it. There were still so many things he had to learn about this region, it seemed. "[Eheh, thanks, but not quite. First day on the job,]" he responded, deciding not to correct her on his gender. Remembering Flower's reaction, he knew it would just make things needlessly awkward if he did that.

Her eyes widened. "[Whoa, _really?_ It took me years to get to that level of awes- um, finesse. How are you so apt?]"

Pikachu twiddled his fingers together. "[Heh, well, y'know… years of battling does that to ya!]"

Though her poise was still and delicate as always, her sparkling eyes gave away her excitement. "[Is that so? Wow…]" She hummed pleasantly. "[Most impressive, madam!]"

"[What's impressive?]" Buneary asked, turning away from wherever Piplup had gone.

"[Me, I guess,]" Pikachu replied, rubbing the back of his head. "[That's what Marina says.]"

"[Ahh, okay.]" She beamed. "[Yup, I totally agree! What you did just then was soooo amazing!]"

Some sweat went down the side of Pikachu's head. Oh dear… once Buneary started on a compliment tirade, there was no stopping her. Not that he minded all _that_ much… "[Oh, er, thanks.]"

She was about to continue, though Marina stopped her. "[Um, sorry to interrupt, but I must ask: Is this teapot for a customer?]"

"[Oh, er, yeah,]" Pikachu replied. "[Not sure which table, though.]"

"[Okay, thanks! Don't worry, I'll find out.]" She took the tray with the teapot on it. Beginning to glow, she leapt upwards a surprising distance into the air, leaving behind streaks of wind while going up. With a forward flip, she landed on the table next to them, out of view.

Alone with Buneary again, he looked up at the table in slight awe. Gosh, what move had that been? Aerial Ace? Huh, it wasn't often he saw it being used to get around like that…

Shaking his head, he turned to Buneary. "[So, um… were you saying something?]" he asked.

"[Oh, you bet your cute apron I was!]" the rabbit replied, eyes sparkling. "[Those acrobatics of yours were amaaaaziiiing~! All while in a maid dress, too… It can't have been easy!]"

He felt his cheeks heat up, though he couldn't stop a smile from forming. "[Hehe, well, th-thanks…]"

"[It was so dangerous, too! One slip up, and you could have burned yourself!]"

He chuckled. "[Good grief, it wasn't _that_ amazing. I'm starting to think you're just flattering me, or something.]"

She fiddled with her apron. "[Well… it was cool, is all I'm saying.]"

He smirked. "[Apparently… but seriously, I didn't do all that much. Those maids have been outshining me all day.]" He pouted slightly. "[… Besides, I did _way_ more impressive stuff, earlier.]"

"[Oh, really?]" She frowned in disappointment. "[Dang, I didn't get to see any of that.]"

"[Pity. I thought I was doing cool, too. Jumping onto tables with my tray on my tail, and stuff…]"

She huffed. "[Awww…]" She shook her head dismissively and smiled at him. "[Oh well. Anyway, I don't care about those maids! They're cool and cute, sure, but they've trained all their lives for that. And they keep cheating with moves, too. You've done awesome stunts like that since the day I met you! And I doubt you've trained to snatch things outta the air at a moment's notice!]"

He felt a shot of pride go through him. "[Eheh, well, I guess…]"

She paused. "[… Well, I'll assume you haven't, anyway. They didn't make you do any midair grabbing practice back at home, did they?]"

He chuckled lightly. "[Nah, not really. I'm sure my dadd- er, dad did some of his own, though-]" He blinked. "[Wait… 'since the day you met me'? What did I do back then?]"

She tilted her head. "[Huh? Don't you even remember?]"

He scratched his head. "[Er… all I remember is the robot thing that grabbed us both… and that I almost got run over.]"

"[Oh… that's a little disappointing. It was one of my favorite days, _ever!_ Especially since I joined the team on that day, too.]"

His scratching shifted to the back of his head. "[Um… sorry. The days kind of blur together after a while. It's what happens when you have an adventure a day.]"

She clicked her tongue. "[Dang…]"

He blinked again. "[… Wait, did I ever thank you for saving me, by the way?]"

She giggled. "[Yeah, you did, don't worry.]" She pat her paws together. "[Buuut… I mean, if you wanna do it again, then…]"

He chuckled and smiled. "[Thanks for the rescue, Bun. You sure saved me a broken bone, or two.]"

She beamed. "[Hee~! No problem! I'll bet you gave Ambipom-]" She stopped, patting her cheek. "[… Aipom? AmbiAipom? Pompom? Ugh, evolutions make things so confusing…!]"

He huffed amusedly. "[Well… if you want a secret… I think I heard someone in her old home call her Kiki, once. She always denies it whenever I ask, but…]"

"[D'aww, that's a cute name~]" she cooed. "[I can't imagine why she wouldn't wanna be called that.]"

"[She blushed the last time I mentioned it, so I think she finds it embarrassing.]" Something that he found oddly karmic, considering all the times the monkey went out of her way to embarrass _him…_

"[Ahaha, makes sense! But yeah, I'll bet you gave Kiki a good scolding for putting you in danger like that.]"

He shrugged. "[Nahh, she didn't know that would happen, so I let it go. Besides, even if I wanted to get annoyed, I would've never gotten the chance. She wouldn't stop apologizing for at least half an hour.]"

"[Ah, okay. Gosh, she can actually be _nice?_ ]"

"[Heh, well, she's not a bad girl. She's just… um…]" He exhaled while thinking of what to say. "[… er… a little bad.]"

She laughed. "[Nicely put!]"

His face warmed. "[Eheh, well… you know what I mean.]" He quickly cleared his throat. "[Anyway, we went way off track! What amazing feats of acrobatics was I up to when we met?]"

"[Ahh yes, well…]" she began, tapping her chin, as if in thought, "[here I was, walking along, wondering what I was gonna eat for breakfast… when I noticed a bunch of goofy antics from some humans.]"

"[Ash, Dawn and Brock, right?]"

"[Yup! I was enjoying myself, watching the hijinks… I mean, it's not often I get such a funny show, so why not, really.]"

"[Eheh, no bunch is as silly as us, for sure…]"

"[Ahaha, you got that right! But yeah, in the kerfuffle, Brock dropped a potato. Instead of giving it back to him, Croagunk grabbed it and threw it really hard, for… some reason. And then you-]"

Pikachu snapped his fingers. "[Oh, right, yeah, I remember! I jumped up and grabbed it, right?]"

"[Right!]" She dreamily brought her paws up to her mouth again. "[I was so captivated! I'd never seen such an amazing show before! You just flew through the air, grabbed it, then came tumbling down to a perfect landing!]" Her legs flailed around in one of her 'happy dances', as Pikachu called them. "[Ooooh, it was _so_ freaking cool!]"

The warmth in his face increased tenfold. "[Hehe, g-gosh… I never knew anyone found that so cool,]" he replied, shyly fiddling with a tassel on his apron.

"[Well _I_ certainly did! I could've sworn you cheated with Bounce, but you hadn't used _any_ moves, so… even better!]"

He chuckled sheepishly. "[Oh, well… th-thank you.]"

She smiled. "[No problem!]"

"[Honestly, I still think you're exaggerating things. Like, a lot. But hey, I'll take it!]"

"[Oh, hardly!]" She bat her paws together, as if thinking of something. "[Y'know… seeing you that day was the main inspiration for me joining the team, actually.]"

He jerked his head back in slight surprise. "[Really?]"

"[Yup!]"

"[… Just because I grabbed a potato?]"

She blinked. "[… Well, you grabbed it _really_ awesomely.]"

"[… Huh.]"

She chuckled awkwardly. "[O-Of course, that's not the _only_ reason, though.]" Her eyes lit up. "[Ooh, in fact, why don't I list off everything _else_ you did that day, that made me join you guys faster than you can run?]"

He paused for a while before shaking his paws dismissively. "[Eheh, nahh, there's no need for-]"

"[Hee, well…!]" she started excitedly, "[after the potato catching, watching you Quick Attacking after Kiki was great! You moved so fast I could barely keep up with you! And it was _especially_ neat how you rescued Ash's hat, grabbing it with a masterful dive, like it was second-nature to you.]"

Face going warmer, he rapidly glanced around, making sure that no one was listening. Thankfully, no one was nearby, so he relaxed slightly. "[Eheh, well… it wasn't _that_ much of a… y'know…]" he started, his gaze bashfully trailing the floor.

"[Heck _yeah_ it was that much of a 'y'know'!]" she responded, making him blush some more. "[Now lessie… ah, yeah, and the way you helped me blow up that robot was _oh_ so fabulous! Oohh, and I almost forgot! You broke through your little glass prison to shatter _my_ little glass prison, didn't ya? Man, it was. So. _Freaking!_ _Awesome!_ ]" Her paw was balled and shaking in a way that reminded him of Brock's overly emotional rants. "[How could I _not_ wanna join after seeing so much greatness in one _day?_ ]"

Pikachu's grin grew almost as much as the warmth on his face. Gosh… as far as he'd been concerned, it'd just been another day on the job for him. Antics, followed by some potentially dangerous event, followed by stupid Team Rocket, followed by having someone join the team. Someone a little peculiar in this case, sure, but still someone all the same. To know that it had meant the world to her, though… it was pretty flattering, to say the least.

"[Um… cool, th-thanks,]" he replied, not really knowing what else to say. "[I… can't say I understand it all that much, but I'm glad _someone_ noticed my endeavors!]"

"[Sweet!]" she replied, grinning back.

Some slight sweat dripped down the side of his head. "[… Even if you went _really_ over the top with it.]"

She rubbed the side of her head. "[Ahaha… well, you know me!]"

"[Eheh, I sure do.]" He put a paw to his hip. "[I don't know why you're so obsessed with giving _me_ praise, though. You were real cool that day, too. Hey, maybe even better.]"

She giggled and pouted. "[Oh, no you don't! It's not fair to flatter the flatterer.]" She blinked. "[… Not that I was flattering you, or anything.]"

He laughed and pointed at her. "[Aha! Gotcha!]"

Chuckling sheepishly, she tapped her paws together. "[Well… it's not like I was lying or anything…]"

He smirked. "[You still went into 'over the top praising' mode, though, which means I have free reign! Y'know, if I wanted it.]" He paused contemplatively. "[In fact… well, you said so many nice things about me, that I might even just do it.]"

She sighed and smiled exasperatedly. "[Okay, sure…]"

He nodded cheerfully. "[Alrighty!]" He quickly glanced around to make sure nobody was watching. If anybody heard him, he knew for sure what they'd say… Especially if it were Ambipom. Once he was absolutely sure nobody was around to hear, he nodded again and scratched his chin in thought. "[Well… to start with, your fight against Piplup was pretty spectacular. You gave him a run for his money, and he's a trained pokémon!]"

She blushed lightly. "[Well… I've done a… _fair_ bit of training, myself. Not with any humans, but… yeah.]"

"[Still pretty impressive, if you ask me! Dodging his Peck… freezing his bubbles so hard that they exploded into diamond dust… pounding him into submission…]" He gave her a thumbs up. "[Not half bad for a fight against an accomplished battler.]"

She bashfully fiddled with her apron. "[W-Well… he'd only just started out, really…]"

"[Sure, but he was hardly a novice. At least I thought so, anyway. So it was still a real cool thing to see!]"

A smile grew on her lips. "[Hee, well… awesome!]"

"[Honestly, I was disappointed I couldn't fight you, myself.]" He reached behind the frills on his head to scratch his ear. "[Hmm… don't remember why we didn't fight, though… Oh, I remember what happened _after,_ though. Umm…]" Some sweat went down the side of his head again. "[It, er… sure was impressive of you to freeze everyone, for… some reason.]"

Her smile grew awkward. "[Well… they'd _just_ tried catching me and then started saying embarrassing things about 'love' and stuff. You would've done it, too…]" She pouted. "[Besides, they were threatening to stop me from hanging around with you, the awesome mouse who'd just impressed me with amazing gymnastics.]"

"[W-Well… you're not wrong, I guess… I've zapped people for less in the past, so hey.]"

She tilted her head. "[Huh? Who? _You?_ ]" She huffed loudly in amusement. "[Now _there's_ a fib, if ever I've heard one!]"

"[Eheh, um, yeah…]" he replied, trying not to appear too uncomfortable at that statement. Why had he let that slip? He _really_ didn't like letting people know about that old side of himself, so he quickly thought of something else. "[A-Anyway, lessie… well, I found all your spinning cool. It was like watching a ballerina in action.]"

"[Ooh, you liked that, did you?]"

"[Sure thing! I do love to watch a good dance, so it was quite a nice surprise.]"

She beamed. "[Ahaha, sweeet~! I was hoping you enjoyed that. I _did_ wanna show off in front of my favorite gymnast, after all!]"

"[Heh, well, that explains all the winking in my direction.]"

Giggling, she gave a twirl. "[Glad to see it wor- _Oh my legends!_ ]" she exclaimed mid-spin, falling onto her backside.

Startled, he looked in her direction only to get startled again. To her side, right next to her, was the maid called Nora from before. She was facing Buneary, though she somehow managed to be staring at the two of them at the same time. Her paws were delicately pressed to the tray on her front, and the smile on her face didn't move an inch. To the point where one could mistake it for a sticker.

"[Oh, my… you two don't appear to be working,]" she said, in a strange, pleasant monotone. "[That's a rather strange work etiquette, isn't it?]"

Pikachu took a deep breath to calm himself. "[U-Umm… we were just taking a bre-]"

The maid spun on the spot with barely a movement, locking her strangely cold gaze onto his. He stopped immediately in response, a breath caught in his throat.

"[That's very interesting,]" she replied, smile unmoving. "[In our beloved maid café, we may only break when excused by Lady Winter.]"

"[I-Is that so?]" he asked, feeling a shiver travel up his spine.

"[Yes. And as Lady Winter has not yet excused me or my associates, I feel as if it would be…]" Her smile flickered ever so faintly. "[… inexcusable for any of us to take a break.]"

He felt sweat pour down his face. "[O-O-Oh. S-Sorry.]" Suddenly, he yelped as he felt something cling to his back. Glancing backwards quickly, he saw Buneary, who was shuddering with a look of sheer horror on her face.

"[That's quite alright,]" Nora continued. "[It's not like we all share the same standards.]" Her gaze continued to pierce into his eyes. He wondered if his soul was being sucked away. "[All the same… we would all be very… very… appreciative if you helped out in some wa-]"

"[Oh, sweet Jesus, _please don't kill us!_ ]" Buneary suddenly blurted, almost in a screech.

The maid tilted her head at her, smile unwavering. "[Hm? That's a bit of an odd comment, madam.]" Her head corrected itself. "[If I'd wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead.]"

Squealing, Buneary fled the scene in a panic. She moved at a faster pace than usual, no doubt thanks to her ability, Run Away. Something Pikachu desperately found himself wishing _he_ had right now, too.

Nora tilted her head again unblinkingly. "[… Hm. Your friend is very funny.]"

"[Y-Yeah, she sure is!]" Pikachu replied, swallowing. Looking between the rabbit and the tray she'd left on the floor, he offered the maid a sheepish grin. "[O-Oh dear, she left her tray behind! Haha!]" He quickly scrambled over to pick it up, plus his own. "[I'd better return it to her, ASAP! Just before I do lots of work, too, of course! Yes!]"

The maid's gaze almost seemed to intensify. "[That makes me glad to hear.]" She gave him a short curtsy. "[Please, have fun.]"

With both trays in hand, Pikachu mumbled out a vague reply and then sprinted in Buneary's direction. He rapidly weaved in-between many legs and pokémon as fast as his own legs would carry him, until he reached the far end of the café. As he got around the corner, he found the rabbit pressed against the counter, clutching at her chest while breathing deeply.

As he approached her, her head snapped in his direction, both ears shooting up. As she realized who it was, she took an extra deep breath before slouching, an ear rolling up again.

"[Ohhh, man, that was _terrifying!_ ]" she muttered.

"[Yeah…]" he replied, leaning against the counter as well. "[… Worst maid?]" he asked after catching his breath.

"[Undoubtedly,]" she replied without pause. "[Why can't she be more like the cute one with the flower on her head?]"

"[Who? Flower?]"

"[Yeah. She's the nicest one. The prettiest, too, no doubt.]"

He huffed amusedly. It was interesting that she'd brought Flower up. Pikachu considered the grass-type to be his favorite maid, too. In terms of appearance, at least, though he'd never admit why. "[Yeah… I guess she is.]"

"[… That said, the best one's easily Marin.]"

"[Heh, after all those acrobatics, I'm not surprised.]" He did a double-take. "[… Wait, Marin? You mean Marina?]"

She blinked before pulling a duck face. "[… That too.]"

He snorted. "[Yeah, sure, sure…!]" he replied with a smirk.

She huffed and playfully nudged him in the shoulder, making him chuckle harder. After a little bit more back and forth, they stood in comfortable silence for a short while. Well… comfortable, save for when they occasionally glanced around nervously. Hoping the death maid wasn't watching them from the shadows, or something.

He sniggered as he remembered something. "[Y'know, I didn't know you were into human religions.]"

She cocked her head. "[Huh? Why'd you think that?]"

"['Oh, dear Jesus' indeed.]"

"[… I panicked,]" she mumbled embarrassedly.

He sniggered again. "[Apparently…]"

She pulled a look of mock annoyance. "[Well… at least it's not at 'jumping in front of a motorcycle' levels of doofy. Like your little stunt back on that day.]"

He pulled a face. "[H-Hey, it's not my fault. The hat was covering my eyes.]"

She smirked. "[Sure, sure~. Any excuse.]"

He groaned. "[It's just like Officer Jenny all over again. Warning me about road safety when I didn't even know I was on a road.]" He pulled even more of a face. "[Heck, I don't even think it was a road. It was made of dirt and leaves.]"

She giggled. "[Ah well, I'm only kidding! Well, sort of, anyway. Are you sure _your_ species can't have Klutz, like mine? Blinding yourself with a hat is a pretty impressive feat…!]"

He felt a light blush coming on. "[H-Heyy…!]" He crossed his arms. "[Hmph! Since when did you get so sassy?]"

"[With Piplup on the team, it's hard _not_ to get in loads of sassing practice.]"

He sighed with a slight grin. "[Oh, I'll bet. Poor ol' Piplup.]"

They paused again, allowing for the calm sounds of the café to fill the air.

After a short while, he pushed himself off the counter and looked up to the top of it. "[I think I'm gonna go help out the others, before they start wondering what's going on.]"

She nodded, though stayed put. "[Okay, then. I'm just gonna stop here until my heart stops freaking out, if that's alright.]"

"[Heh, alright, sure. Just don't let Nora see you,]" he replied, picking up his tray with his tail.

She shivered, pulling her apron up to her face. "[Y-Yeah, screw that noise with a ten foot pole…]"

With another chuckle, Pikachu leapt to the top of the counter. From there, he saw almost all of his friends in two groups, mixing various things into different glasses of milk. He also noticed others who hadn't been there earlier, such as Buizel and Staravia.

Eventually deciding on the small group of Turtwig, Chimchar and Ambipom - the latter of which was still standing on the sink nearby, washing dishes - Pikachu moved closer, ready to get some milk mixed. Spying Ambipom's smile widening as he drew closer, however, he mentally sighed. He wondered what kind of teasing he'd be in for, now. Xerneas knew she'd have plenty of ammunition, after today…

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 29/07 (July)/2017

 **Word count:** 4,276

 **Times the word 'milk' was used:** 2

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Nora isn't inspired by Russia (the character) from Hetalia, I promise.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the inevitable 'What do you mean you like me because of my potato-ing!?' chapter! Though it's not in quite as much of a romantic setting as it usually is, this time. As far as Pikachu knows, anyway...

 **Shameless promotion:** Today, I'm recommending **Cupid Wears Buneary Ears** , by **Aiselne Phoenix Nocturnus**. It's a cutesy little lagomorph story that involves Buneary causing wacky shenanigans to get Dawn and Ash together, under the idea that it'll get her and Pikachu together as a result.

It's very POV-happy (and I mean _very_ ), and a lot of the attention is on Ash and Dawn… but when it's funny, it can be a pretty big barrel of laughs. Plus, as you'd expect, it has a few cute moments, too. The author kind of has a strange typo quirk with one specific thing, though. Instead of writing 'Person-A has a crush on Person-B', it's often written as 'Person-A crushes Person-B'. Kind of makes it sound like Buneary decided to squash Pikachu, honestly. So it's funny to see. XD

Aside from that, fic's pretty a'ight. And it's finished! Go read and review it!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** 'First, **shed** been treated to the pretty sight of him in a maid dress…'

(That lucky shed. I wonder if it's Pikachu trying to hide away while he tries maid dresses?)

 **#2:** ' Oh, and the way you helped me blow up that **rabbit** was _oh_ so fabulous'

(I was distracted by ravengal playing something, so then… whoops. I guess Pikachu didn't appreciate Bunnelby and his rip-off shipping in Kalos all that much!)

 **#3:** '"[Oh, my… you two don't appear to be working,]" she said, in a strange, **peasant** monotone.'

(Nora's talking like a filthy commoner! No wonder she's basically got a servant's job.)

 **#4:** 'She shivered, pulling her apron up to her face. "[Y-Yeah, screw that **nose** …]"'

(Buneary develops a strange kink! I'm just glad I fixed this long before I added 'with a ten-foot pole' to the end of the sentence…)

Welp, tata for now, masters! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _The most affectionate of maids!_


	16. Endless Affection

**Chapter 16:** _Endless Affection_

* * *

With one last calming breath, Buneary hopped onto the counter. Thankfully, she hadn't run into that creepy freaking… furry maid thing the entire time she'd been hiding away. What had her name been again? Norma or something, right? Well, whatever it was, Buneary hoped to not see her again. She was the sort of creature that belonged in a horror movie, or something. A pity, because without the cold gaze and the abnormal way of speaking, she would have been quite a cute maid, otherwise. Oh well…

Glancing down the counter, she saw all of her friends in two small groups, chatting while mixing some milk into glasses. She considered joining the group Pikachu was in, for obvious reasons. However, after seeing him laughing and joking with his friends, she decided to leave him to it. Besides, she hadn't hung out with the others much today, so it was a good excuse to do so.

Moving past the group Pikachu was in, she went over to the one containing Buizel, Pachirisu and Staravia. "[Hey, guys!]" she greeted, waving.

"[Oh! 'Sup, Squishy Ears!]" Pachirisu said, putting his spoon into a glass.

Staravia let go of the spoon he was holding with his mouth. "[Huh. Hey, there,]" he said, looking strangely surprised.

"[Speak of the devil…]" Buizel quipped, grinning slightly.

"[Huh? Were you guys talking about me?]" Buneary asked.

"[We were wondering where you were at,]" Staravia replied. "[All of us guessed 'with Pikachu', yet here you are with us.]"

She rubbed the back of her head. "[Ahaha, well… you're _half_ right. I was helping him out with something earlier.]"

"[Freaking knew it,]" Buizel replied.

She blushed slightly. "[Well… he needed help, what can I say?]"

"[Any excuse,]" he replied, chuckling.

"[Well, I ain't complaining!]" Pachirisu interjected. "[The more time you two spend together, the harder my shipping gets!]"

She pulled an exasperated face. "[Are you guys in cahoots with Ambipom, or something?]"

"[I compare notes with her sometimes, yeah,]" Buizel replied, readjusting his maid costume. "[It's pretty fun. Especially when Pikachu finds out.]"

She rolled her eyes. "[Figures…]"

"[Screw that noise,]" Staravia retorted, frowning. "[She makes fun of me for being Ash's special 'balloon popper'. I hate it!]" His head dipped sadly. "[Ash likes me for more than that, surely. Even if he _does_ keep praising Pikachu instead of me and…]" He trailed off into mumbles.

"[Um… I'm sorry to hear that…]" she replied, feeling sweat go down the side of her head. "[B-But yeah! I'm here in this group with you guys, why not? We're teammates, after all!]" She noticed Buizel shrugging and gave a shrug of her own. "[Well… kind of. One teammate, one ex-teammate, and one… other teammate.]"

"[You're not wrong!]" Pachirisu beamed.

"[I wish I was on your team…]" Staravia interjected. "[Maybe _then_ Ash would notice my efforts, more…]"

Everyone gave him an awkward glance.

"[… Anyway, let's get mixing!]" Buneary chimed, smiling widely.

Pachirisu and Buizel quickly agreed and got back to work. Sighing, Staravia soon got to work himself.

Grabbing a spoon, a packet and a glass of milk, Buneary followed suit. Tearing a packet open and dumping its contents into the glass before stirring. Watching the others as they stirred, she saw Staravia holding a spoon in his beak, Buizel holding one with a paw and Pachirisu holding one with his tail. Or _her_ tail. Whatever, Buneary didn't know, so she just defaulted to 'he'.

As the seconds rolled on, her milk took on a lovely pink color. Satisfied with the result, she stopped stirring and put it to the side, along with a few that were dotted along the edge of the counter. Almost as soon as she placed it there, a purple aura enveloped it, along with several other drinks. They began to float in the air before drifting onto the tray of the maid with purple skin, who stood on the table next to them.

"[Hey, thanks, pal,]" she responded. "[Saves a lot of time when someone else is mixing this stuff.]"

"[Oh, no problem,]" Buneary replied, surprised that the girl wasn't trying her best to be professional like the other maids. "[Always happy to help!]"

Making sure to face away from Winter's general direction, the maid smirked. "[Well, aren't you a bundle of sunshine?]"

Buneary beamed. "[Hee, I try!]"

"[Heh. Y'know, with that kind of attitude, you should join us, or something. I'm sure Marina would be overjoyed, knowing her.]"

She briefly tried to remember who that was before shaking her head. "['Fraid I can't. I'm too busy with my contesting!]"

"[As well as trying to get into Pikachu's fur…]" Buizel quipped, much to Pachirisu and Staravia's amusement.

"[H-Hey!]" she retorted, face going slightly warm.

"[He's not wrong…]" Staravia mumbled through his spoon.

"[Yeah, I'm totally with Miles and Hook Hair,]" Pachirisu added, referring to the weasel and bird, respectively.

Groaning, she turned back towards the maid. "[They dunno what they're talking about. Don't listen to 'em.]"

Taking her hands off her tray and allowing it to float next to her, the maid held her hands up defensively. "[Hey, whatever floats your boat, pal. I'm here to serve milk, not to judge.]" She took hold of her tray again. "[On that note, I've got a job to do. Enjoy yourselves, guys-]"

A loud noise of pain erupted near the entrance from two people. One with a high-pitched voice, and one that sounded pretty bird-like. Like a chatot, or something.

"[The heck was _that?_ ]" Staravia said, spoon dropping out of his beak in surprise.

"[Oh no…]" the maid sighed, looking exasperated. "[Must be that penguin maid, again.]"

"[Again?]" Buneary groaned.

"[Yup. She's made more mistakes today than me and my maid buddies have made our entire lives. Combined.]" She sighed again. "[Even now, after we practically demoted her to door duty. That is, welcoming the 'masters' home, and whatnot.]"

Buizel burst out laughing. "[Really? Good lord, what a dweeb…]" he said.

Slowly shaking her head, Buneary looked around, expecting the others to be laughing along with him. She noticed Staravia also shaking his head exasperatedly, which wasn't too surprising, but Pachirisu seemed somewhat concerned. A reaction that actually _did_ surprise her a little.

"[Welp,]" the maid started, "[guess I'd better go and take her off _that_ job, too. If General Winter doesn't do it first, anyway.]"

"[Pfft, huh? _General_ Winter?]" Buizel asked, amused.

"[… Inside joke,]" she explained, turning on her heel. Jumping off the table, she floated elsewhere, telepathically sending drinks down to customers as she went.

Alone with her friends again, Buneary exhaled slowly through her nose. "[That Piplup, I swear…]" she muttered.

"[I'm amazed he hasn't gotten us kicked out and banned for life,]" Staravia replied.

Pachirisu just sighed heavily. Looking over at him, Buneary saw him frowning in the direction of the entrance worriedly.

"[What's up with you, squirt?]" Buizel asked him. "[You worried about something?]"

"[Yeah… I'm pretty worried about Bubbles,]" Pachirisu explained.

"[Bubbles?]" Staravia asked.

"[His name for Piplup, I think,]" Buizel replied.

"[Oh, right. Well, what's up with him?]"

"[Well…]" Pachirisu began, "[his goof-ups were totally funny at first, obviously. But… well, the more he does it, the less he reacts to it. No drama-queen-ing, no getting angry… no nothing. It's _so_ unlike him…]"

"[Legends, really?]" Staravia asked incredulously.

"[Yeah… Pachi's right, thinking about it,]" Buneary replied. "[I actually saw him mess up just before coming here. I thought he was gonna riot like he usually does, but he just… didn't.]"

"[Huh… yeah, that's a bit worrying, isn't it?]"

Buizel waved a paw dismissively. "[Ehh, I'm sure he's fine. Besides, it's Piplup we're talking about. Sure, he has anger issues, but it's not like it ever sticks, right?]"

The others agreed with various amounts of uncertainty.

"[Yeah, so stop worrying about it,]" the weasel continued. "[Having to wear this…]" He gestured towards his maid dress, "[… is bad enough without having to worry about the world's biggest drama-queen, too.]"

Pachirisu chuckled slightly. "[Guess so.]"

Buneary couldn't stop herself from making an affectionate noise. "[Y'know, on that note, I must say… you look _utterly_ gorgeous in that,]" she cooed playfully.

Buizel rolled his eyes. "[Oh, shut up.]"

Everyone else chuckled before going back to mixing drinks.

As time went on, Buneary angled both of her unrolled ears to listen in on the other group's conversation. Just out of curiosity, and to occupy herself. Her reward was hearing Ambipom tease Pikachu and Turtwig some more, while Chimchar made exasperated comments.

Feeling the rumblings of a headache because the constant noise in the café, Buneary rolled her ear up again. She'd heard all she'd needed to hear, however. That Ambipom… she was such a nuisance. Always going out of her way to embarrass everyone. Pikachu especially. It would have been fine if it was just some simple teasing every now and again, but did it have to be so constant?

Oh well… at least Pikachu still seemed to like her. Though Buneary couldn't decide why, for the life of her.

Looking to her side, she watched everyone in the café go about their business. Dawn, Ash and the three sisters were moving around the café, taking orders and greeting customers. It might've been her imagination, but she could've sworn that the customers were giving extra attention to Ash, who was blushing awkwardly.

The four pokémon maids were hurriedly moving from table, using whatever powers they had on hand to make their job of delivering milk easier.

Buneary couldn't stop watching after she noticed them. It was almost like they were in some big, intricate dance number, which would have put most contest pokémon to shame. Gliding through the air using pretty flowers, flowing water, sparkling stars, and… purple psychic mind stuff. They all juggled milks around in such a way that they sailed through the air and landed perfectly on point without a single drop spilled. It was so fun to watch that it was hard not to go up to them, and beg for autographs.

Still… like she'd said before, it was nothing compared to the sort of stuff Pikachu was capable of. He would probably need a little bit of training before becoming a master maid… but it was certainly possible for him! She'd believe it after all of the stunts she'd seen him pull over the months. Like the time he'd caught that ring in midair before flinging it with pinpoint accuracy onto the target! Ohhh, it still gave her _shivers_ when she thought about it! Yeah, he was easily on par with these girls.

… Still, if she had never met Pikachu… then she might not have minded if-

"[Hey, Buneary,]" Buizel suddenly said.

Jumping slightly, she snapped her head in his direction. "[O-Oh, er, yeah?]"

"[I keep joking about it, but… I wanna hear it straight from the girafarig's mouth.]" He stopped stirring to cross his arms. "[… You have the hots for Pikachu, right?]"

She nearly dropped her spoon. Oh no… not this again. "[W-What? Where's _this_ coming from all of a sudden?]" she asked, trying hard not to sweat. Had he been reading her mind, or something!?

"[It just occurred to me. We all joke about it, but no one ever actually asks.]"

"[Bubbles is _always_ asking,]" Pachirisu interjected. "[Never gets anywhere, though.]"

"[Yup,]" Staravia added, "[and you don't even wanna _know_ how Pikachu handles the accusations. He shudders so hard, I sometimes wonder if he's going to dig underground, or something.]"

Remembering Pikachu's sandslash heritage, Buneary huffed in amusement.

"[All the more reason to ask, really,]" Buizel continued, shifting slightly to allow the flowery maid to grab a milk before leaving again. "[So… yes or no, Buneary. D'you have a crush on him?]"

She exhaled deeply. "[… You just want to find out so you can tease him some more, don't you?]" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

Smirking smarmily, he tilted his head slightly. "[Didn't hear a yes or a no there, anywhere.]"

Rolling her eyes, she considered what to say. She really didn't like lying about anything, at least not out loud, but good lord… it could only end badly if she admitted anything.

Normally, she wouldn't mind admitting that she liked someone. While hiding behind her fluff, sure, but she still would've done it. However, with the way Pikachu often handled even a slight bit of romantic prodding…

No, he wasn't ready for that, yet. Maybe one day, but until then…

"[Yeah… no. I plead the fifth,]" she replied.

Pachirisu cocked his head. "[Huh? The fifth? What fifth? He only gave two answers.]"

Staravia sighed. "['Pleading the fifth' means she doesn't want to answer.]"

"[Oh… how lame.]"

Buneary tried to avoid giving him an odd look. Why did Pachirisu care so much? Thanks to her having to explain certain… things to him, he basically already knew the answer. Then again, the troublemaker _did_ enjoy watching shenanigans unfold, so it wasn't the most surprising thing in the world…

Clicking his tongue, Buizel rolled his eyes. "[You pansy. I'll bet that's a big _yes._ ]"

"[Y-Yeah, well…]" Buneary began before shrugging exaggeratedly, "[believe what you wanna believe. I'll bet you'd probably think I said 'yes' either way.]"

"[Can you blame me? I've never seen _anyone_ as affectionate towards someone else as you are to that mouse.]"

She hoped the warmth in her cheeks wasn't showing. "[Hey, well… I'm allowed to be affectionate to people, aren't I?]"

"[Yeah, Squishy's kinda right,]" Pachirisu interjected, "[our bunny's always hugging Dawn and… er…]" He paused. "[… So yeah, Squishy's totally right!]"

"[Thanks, Pachirisu…]" she grumbled.

"[N-No problem…!]" he replied, rubbing the back of his head with one of the spikes on his tail.

Chuckling, Buizel grinned. "[Well, if that's the case… why don't you give us a demonstration by nuzzling Staravia?]"

"[W-Wait, what?]" she and Staravia exclaimed.

"[Why _me?_ ]" the bird continued.

Buizel shrugged smugly. "[Why not? I don't do nuzzling, and it'll be less funn- er, _effective_ if Pachirisu gets it.]"

Staravia's hair dipped. "[Oh, great… so I'm the balloon popper _and_ the court jester. Thanks, Buizel.]"

"[No problem, man.]"

Buneary sighed. If this was the only way to stop Pikachu from freaking out, or worse, finding out about the crush… "[Alright… fine,]" she replied, putting her glass to one side. Moving over to the large bird, she clenched her eyes shut and affectionately nuzzled her face against his feathery chest, just above his apron. She faltered slightly as the bird made embarrassed noises, but she kept going.

She heard Buizel huff. "[You call that nuzzling? I bet you're faking it.]"

Biting her lip slightly, she brought her paws to her chin and nuzzled even more affectionately. Staravia's feathers begin to brush against her fur as she really dug her head into him. A pleasant sensation, even if this was the weirdest thing she'd done all year. Probably.

"[U-Um… d-does she really need to keep going?]" she heard Staravia ask awkwardly. "[It's getting really… weird.]"

"[Ehh… not yet,]" Buizel replied, sounding like he was trying to hold back laughter. "[I mean… anyone could nuzzle like that, right?]"

Gritting her teeth, Buneary wrapped her arms around the bird and buried her face into his chest, nuzzling vigorously.

"[H-Holy Hell!]" Staravia squawked, stumbling backwards a little.

"[Whoaaa, look at Squishy go!]" Pachirisu cheered.

Oddly, most of the noise from the other group stopped, as if they'd been distracted by something. Part of her wondered if they'd noticed her… but she didn't care! She had a crush to hide!

"[Yeah… it's alright…]" Buizel started, "[… but I'm still not convinced. You're gonna have to try harder than-]"

"[Aghhh, _fine!_ ]" Buneary exclaimed, letting go of Staravia, who stumbled over, face red. Spinning around, she hopped around some glasses to hug Pachirisu and nuzzle his head. If _this_ didn't prove a point, she didn't know _what_ would.

"[ _Ah!_ ]" the squirrel squeaked. "[W-What're you doing, Buneary!? I know I'm an electric rodent, but c'mon!]"

"[I'm proving myself!]" she exclaimed, nuzzles increasing.

"[Gahhh, save me, Miles!]" Pachirisu cried out, wriggling furiously.

Buizel only laughed in response. "[Oh, jeez… Well, I'm still unconvinced you don't like Pikachu, but at least I'm getting a show out of- _Gah!_ ]"

While Buizel had spoken, Buneary had let go of Pachirisu and tackled the weasel into a hug. "[Don't speak too soon, bucko, it's _your_ turn for affection! _Hyaaaghh!_ ]" she exclaimed, burrowing her face into his chest and nuzzling the hell out of him, frowning determinedly.

Glancing out the corner of her eye, she saw his face glow bright red. "[G-Get off me, you crazy hare! E-Everyone's freaking watching!]" he yelped.

"[ _Not until I get my point across!_ ]" she retorted.

"[Y-Y-Yeah, whatever, you're good, geddoff!]" he retorted, trying to push her away.

"[I don't believe that you believe me for a _second!_ ]" she replied, pushing his paw away with an ear. "[So believe it!]"

"[Oh, lord, she's gone feral!]" Staravia exclaimed.

"[Oh no… I read a story on this, once,]" Pachirisu muttered. "[Something about pokémon randomly becoming feral until their pokéballs were broken, or something. Like, 'murder you and steal your women' feral. It was pretty scary…]"

"[Aghhhh, then where's her ball!? We've gotta smash it and save her!]"

"[But… that was just a book, Hook Hair. Smashing balls won't-]" The squirrel paused to snort in amusement. "[Um, smashing Squishy's ball won't do a thing.]"

"[I'm not feral, I'm proving my innocence!]" Buneary retorted, holding on to Buizel's maid dress as he spun around.

"[Alright, alright, I believe it, jeez!]" the weasel shouted. "[Just lemmie go, before everyone thinks we're lesbians, or something.]"

Not believing him, she let go of him and landed on her feet. "[Don't worry, I'll prove myself yet!]" She hopped towards the other group and lunged at Turtwig.

* * *

Well then… this was something Pikachu could have never seen coming, today.

Currently, Buneary had her paws wrapped around Turtwig's neck while frantically snuggling him with her face.

"[W-What the heck!?]" the tortoise exclaimed, wriggling around and making odd noises as she commenced with her 'attack'.

"[Hold still, Turtwig!]" she exclaimed. "[I need to shower you with affection!]"

Staring at the scene blankly, Pikachu picked up a glass of milk and splashed it over his face. After wiping it from his eyes, the sight of Buneary desperately trying to be overly friendly towards Turtwig remained in front of him.

His face slowly morphed into one of shock. Good lord… he'd known she was affectionate, but this was something else! He'd wondered why she'd been nuzzling Staravia earlier. No thanks to Ambipom's teasing, he'd tried not to pay too much attention. However, it'd become increasingly impossible to ignore, to the point where it was happening right in front of him.

"[Buneary, what the heck are you doing!?]" Chimchar asked, eyes widened. "[Did someone spike your freaking milk, or something?]"

Letting go of Turtwig, the rabbit turned around and began to nuzzle Chimchar. "[I have no idea what you mean, Chimchar! I just wanna nuzzle you!]" she shouted.

Yelping, the fiery monkey tried to push her away to no avail. "[Oh my frigging Buddha! What's gotten into you!?]"

Naturally, Ambipom found the whole thing hilarious. "[Oh dear, it's even worse than I thought! You're losing her so much that she's wanting to date _everyone_ in the restaurant, now!]" she teased, continuing on from the topic she'd started when they'd seen the rabbit hug Staravia.

"[Sh-Shut up, you…]" Pikachu groaned at her, making her giggle even more.

With much straining, Chimchar found the strength to pick up Buneary and toss her away. Undeterred, however, the rabbit flipped around to correct herself. Landing, she looked in Pikachu's direction. He tensed, realizing that he was next.

She paused, sweating slightly. Shaking her head, she saw something to the side and murmured happily, hopping towards it afterwards.

Sighing in relief, he looked in the direction she was headed. He saw Ambipom, who had a somewhat surprised look on her face as the rabbit came closer. Pikachu couldn't stop a light smirk from forming at the sight. It was kind of therapeutic, seeing her in a potentially embarrassing situation, for once.

As Buneary drew close, the monkey yelped loudly and slammed one of her tail hands down between her and the rabbit. Buneary almost rammed into it, but bounced high into the air instead. She dived towards Ambipom afterwards, arms outstretched.

Screeching, the monkey raised her paws to defend herself. When Buneary smacked into her, they both fell off the counter and crashed to the ground.

Gasping, Pikachu ran to the side of the counter and looked down. He saw Ambipom wriggling on the ground while Buneary snuggled her head, ruffling up the monkey's signature fringe.

Meeting Ambipom's desperate gaze, Pikachu decided that enough was enough and jumped down next to them. Clambering onto the monkey and getting a foothold on her maid apron, he began to tug at Buneary. As expected, her grip was strong, so he found himself having to twist around constantly. Ambipom made some odd noises as a result.

"[I won't… stop… piling on… the nuzzles…!]" Buneary strained to say.

With a cry, Pikachu flung upwards as hard as he could, finally detaching her. Losing his balance, he tumbled backwards off Ambipom's front, landing on his back on the floor by her legs. Glancing upwards, he watched Buneary sail through the air with many forward flips. Several gasps from the other pokémon rang out as she flew over the counter. Most likely at her surprisingly athletic performance. Or perhaps, in fear of her hugging them again.

Sighing, he picked himself up. "[You okay?]" he asked, looking over at Ambipom, who was also picking herself up.

"[Y-Yeah, thanks…]" she replied, tenderly rubbing her front. She grinned at him. "[Heh. You're my hero!]"

He smiled. "[All in a day's work! I just wish I was this successful at removing your crown, back in Kanto.]"

"[Oh yeah.]" She giggled lightly. "[Yeah, might've saved us some drama.]"

Pikachu chuckled lightly. Before he could head off towards Buneary, though, he noticed a faint blush on Ambipom's cheeks. "[Um, did Buneary's assault warm you up, or something?]" he asked, head cocked. "[You're looking a bit red.]"

She jolted before shaking her head. "[Oh, er, no! I'm… er…]" She tapped her paws together. "[… Well… Yeah, actually, let's watch where you stand next time, alright? You're lucky I was wearing this dress. And have lots of fur.]"

He frowned in concern. "[Huh? Why? Did I hurt you?]"

"[Naww… it's just… um…]" Chuckling bashfully, she rubbed the back of her head, "[… it's rude to stand on a girl's nips and twist around, bud. Something you might wanna remember for when you're alone with Buneary! Haha!]"

Pikachu stared at her. Heat rose up to his cheeks, followed by shudders that rose up his spine. "[W-What!? Oh, good lord, sorry!]"

She giggled again. "[Oh yeah?]" She nudged him on the arm with one of her tail's hands. "[I'll bet you're secretly not sorry about it, you perrrrrv~]"

He freaked out even further. Oh no! How could he have let this happen!?

Instead of chasing after Buneary, Pikachu stayed to continuously apologize to Ambipom. He ignored her attempts to coax him out of it and continued for a long time, all while trying not to melt into a puddle of embarrassment.

He continued until he heard something that sent his blood running cold.

* * *

Spinning through the air, Buneary scanned the cafeteria for another target to nuzzle. She had to prove that thing she'd set out to do, whatever it was, and she wasn't going to freaking stop until she'd proven it! Even if she had to nuzzle everyone in the whole damn restaurant!

Landing on her feet, she saw a pair of legs in front of her, belonging to a human maid. Spying the perfect opportunity to get Buizel off her back, she jumped forwards to nuzzle the heck out of their leg.

The maid made a surprised gasp. Afterwards, he chuckled. From his voice, Buneary guessed that it was Ash. "Huh, hey, Buneary," he said, happily. "Guess you're workin' real hard, huh?"

Pleasantly surprised by the response, she smiled at him and nodded.

"Awesome," he replied. Crouching down, he rubbed her on the head. "Can't say I get why you're enjoyin' this, but hey. At least you're less girly-lookin' than Pikachu is right now, huh? Ahehehe!"

She rolled her eyes playfully, making him chuckle some more. Remembering her mission, she pulled a determined face.

Seeing it, Ash nodded and stood up. "Alright, keep up the good work, Buneary!" He sighed while walking away. "I've gotta lotta masters to get through…"

Buneary cheered energetically and swiveled around on the spot. Spotting the purple-skinned maid from before, she hopped over to her and gave her a nice, big nuzzle.

"[… So… hey again,]" the maid said after a short while. "[You, er… needing something?]"

"[Just some love and affection to prove a point!]" Buneary replied.

"[… Ooookay,]" the maid replied, raising a hand that wasn't carrying a tray. Buneary suddenly felt some strange force gently lift her into the air and make her hover away. "[Well, er… why not go give some of that 'love and affection' to the other girls?]"

Buneary was about to protest until she found her arms wrapped around the waist of the big, pretty flowery maid, who'd been nearby. The grass-type squeaked in response, a blush on her cheeks.

The rabbit felt a blush growing on her cheeks, too. She felt a little odd, because of how… delicate the girl was. Sort of like certain bunearys in the warren she'd come from. With that in mind, she only gave a minor nuzzle, just to stop the suspicions. If nothing else, at least it wasn't the creepy maid…

Buneary suddenly noticed the water-type maid jumping off a table and coming closer, a look of keen interest on her face. Seeing it as an opening, the rabbit let go of the flowery maid and dropped to the ground. Landing, she leapt forwards, head bowed and ready to nuzzle. Her forehead hit something hard out of nowhere, making her screech. Flopping to the ground, she groaned.

"[Aww…]" the maid mumbled. "[… Er, p-please excuse me, madam! Um, are you okay?]"

Buneary lay there, dazed. "[Owwww… I think so…]" she groaned, tenderly rubbing her head. She slowly tried to pick herself back up.

"[Here, allow me to help,]" the maid responded.

Shortly after, Buneary felt a paw slide under her arm, lifting her up. She steadily got to her feet as a result. "[Th-Thanks…]" she muttered. She clutched at her sore head. "[Jeez… what even hit me…? It was like a freaking brick.]"

A nervous chuckle escaped the maid's lips. "[S-Sorry… I would've moved it if I had known I was going to be nuzzled by fellow pretty maids, today.]"

Buneary smiled through the pain. "[Ah, that's okay, Mario. I'll live, I think.]"

Some sweat went down the side of the maid's head. "[… That's Marina, madam.]"

Buneary gasped lightly. "[Oh! S-Sorry. I'm no good with names.]"

Marina briefly rolled her eyes before catching herself. "[That's okay.]" She fiddled with a pouch on the side of her apron. Pulling out a cloth, she produced some water from her paw and splashed some onto the cloth, before offering it to Buneary. "[Here! Better apply it to your forehead before the swelling starts.]"

"[Hey, thanks,]" Buneary replied, gingerly putting it against her head. She made a noise of content when the cold water soothed her soreness.

"[You're quite welcome, madam,]" the maid responded with a small bow, paws delicately held across the tray on her chest. "[Were you… er… needing assistance with something?]"

"[Nah, everything's good, thanks.]"

"[Exquisite.]" She paused. "[… So, um… if I may… what were you even doing, in that case?]"

"[Proving… something. Er, I forgot what, though.]"

The maid stared blankly. "[… Oh.]" She smiled. "[Well, it's okay. Any point that can be made with affection must be a good point indeed, eh?]"

"[Ahaha, hey, I'll agree with… that…]" Buneary started, stopping when she realized something. Yeah, that'd been it. She'd gone on a nuzzling binge to stop everyone from being suspicious of her crush on Pikachu. She wondered if she'd done a good job. She'd kind of lost track of what she'd been doing after nuzzling Staravia, but hey, the more nuzzles, the less suspicion, right?

… Wait, what the heck had she been frigging doing!? Sure, Buizel, Pachirisu and Staravia had known what was going on… but, on the other group's end, she'd just randomly started nuzzling everyone for no freaking reason!

She felt her face go red. Ohhhh, and Pikachu had been watching, too! What the heck will have been going through _his_ mind? Dear lord, she felt so embarrassed, now! This was almost as humiliating as 'the fluff incident' from a few years ago!

The water maid started giving her an odd look. "[Are you alright, madam? Your face has gone quite a lovely shade of red.]"

Buneary slapped her apron across her own face. "[… I made a total fool of myself, didn't I?]"

"[Well… I'll admit you're getting quite a few interesting looks from people… but you're not a fool in my eyes, madam.]"

Groaning, Buneary hopped away in sheer embarrassment. Dang it, why did she have to spaz out so much? This _always_ happened whenever she got far too pumped up over something. She'd go over the top and then bad things would happen. Usually something to do with her shamelessly flirting with Pikachu a little bit too much.

She wondered what to do, now. There was no way she could show her face again so soon after that, so she had to find something else to do. Maybe dipping her face into a huge bucket of ice was a good start.

Realizing that she was hopping around blindly, she let go of the apron covering her face. When she saw that she was falling directly towards Piplup, who was carrying a full tray, she yelped in surprise. She smacked into him immediately after, before falling onto her butt.

Screaming and staggering backwards, the penguin scrambled to keep a hold of his tray. The many glasses of milk on it rattled and clanged as they wobbled around precariously. Eventually, he fell over, accidentally tossing his tray into the air.

Buneary watched with bated breath as the tray briefly hung in the air. She noticed everyone in the area doing the same, including Marina, who'd wandered closer.

The tray dropped like a brick towards Piplup. Squealing, he got up and reached upwards for it with both flippers, cowering slightly. It landed firmly into his grip, and the glasses settled shortly after.

Still holding it above him, Piplup blinked. "[… I… I did it,]" he murmured. "[I-I finally-]"

The tray began to tilt downwards in his grasp.

The penguin's eyes widened. "[No… N-No, please…]"

The contents of the tray slid off, crashing on the ground in front of him. Then the tray fell, clattering when it hit the wet floor.

Buneary cringed. She waited for the inevitable angry ranting, or temper tantrum. However, Piplup didn't do anything. He just stood there, arms unmoving. He looked down at the milk, horror slowly forming on his face.

The crowd watching from their seats groaned and got back to whatever they'd been doing before. Buneary could even hear some of them making irritated comments about the penguin.

Buneary didn't know what to do. Normally, she would've rolled her eyes and either helped or left him to it. However, there was something about the look on his face that really ate away at her. She couldn't will herself to do anything but watch.

"[Is… she okay?]" Marina asked, snapping her out of her mild daze.

"[I-I dunno,]" she responded. She raised her voice so that Piplup could hear. "[Hey…? P-Piplup?]"

Sighing, Dawn walked into view from behind Piplup. She looked very exasperated. "Piplup, not again…" she muttered, not noting his peculiar behavior.

The penguin didn't react. He just continued to stand where he was.

Still oblivious, Dawn continued. "How about you call it quits for the day?" she said, kneeling down next to him. "I just don't think this is your sort of thing."

Gasping lightly, his arms finally came down, sliding to his sides. His look of horror slowly turned into an unreadable one, his beak scrunching up. He dipped his head even further.

Buneary's ear pricked when she heard his breathing grow heavy. She could also hear a small, drawn-out whine coming from him.

She was about to ask if he was alright when she heard a sob escape his beak. Followed by some more.

Her heart sank to the pits of her stomach. It sank even further when she noticed the tears trickling down his beak and onto the floor.

Finally noticing that something was wrong, Dawn looked down at Piplup in concern. "… Piplup? What's…?" She covered her mouth in shock. "P-Piplup, are you-?"

Some especially loud sobs left his beak. Before Dawn could say anything else, he pushed her away, unbalancing her and making her fall. Turning, he ran, passing under tables and disappearing out of sight.

Picking herself up, Dawn stared in Piplup's direction in utter distress. She looked as if she didn't know what to say or do.

Also staring, Buneary was utterly dumfounded. She'd never seen him get so upset before. Sure, he'd be incredibly melodramatic before, but… good lord.

Her unrolled ear went flat against her skull as she realized that… it'd been because of _her_ that he'd basically snapped, hadn't it?

She felt awful, especially as the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Her ear perked up when she saw Marina, while glowing, jump onto a table. The maid jumped forwards again, out of view.

Buneary frowned determinedly. She might've caused this mess, sure… but she was gonna be the one to fix it! Willing air to gather around her feet, she Bounced high into the air. Scanning the café, she barely saw Piplup disappear behind the entrance door.

Backflipping to face the door, she kicked out, shooting away in its direction as the wind surrounding her feet evaporated. She felt a brief stroke of surprise and pride at the successful technique, which went away as she focused on landing near the entrance. Ignoring the lace that had fallen off her head, she rushed out the door. Seeing the penguin a fair way away in the distance, she gave chase, along with Marina, behind her.

Buneary had no idea how to handle this… but she had to, for her friend's sake.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!?**

* * *

 **Finished:** 21/08 (August)/2017

 **Word count:** 5,779

 **Times the word 'milk' was used:** 11

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Bah! Piplup, no!

 **Shameless promotion:** Need something fluffy to balance out Piplup's depressing moment? Well look no further! **MewLover54** has you covered with his new fic, **Meeting Again**! It's a longass one-shot that features Pikachu and Buneary, after Alola times, wanting to ship together again after being away from each other for so long. Unfortunately, they're both pretty bad at it… though with lots of help from their friends, maybe _something_ can bloom!

All in all, the fic's pretty awesome! It has action, romance, shellpwnage (naturally, considering it's a sequel to Nerves, though it stands on its own well enough), humor… and most importantly, more Piplup abuse! :D (Jk, he isn't abused all _that_ much. Maybe.) I'd heartily recommend it!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** '"[Hey, well… I'm allowed to be affection **ate**.]"'

(Oh no. Buneary has learned about vore. I knew she shouldn't have visited Deviant Art!)

 **#2:** 'kept going, feeling his **feather** against her fur.'

(2hot4ffn)

 **#3:** 'Suddenly, Chimchar found the strength to pick up Buneary and toss her off.'

(Buneary x Chimchar confirmed for canon!)

 **#4:** 'she saw something to the side and murmured happily, **hooping** away towards it afterwards.'

(I swear to god, if this is one of that stupid Hoopa's pranks, then I'm going to dropkick him back into his silly donut dimension in his horrible trailer bait movie)

 **#5:** 'She came towards Ambipom, arms outstretched'

(Buneary x Ambipom confirmed for canon!)

Alrighty, that's it for today. Tata for now! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** Penguin problems!


	17. Spilled Milk

**Chapter 17:** _Spilled Milk_

* * *

Jumping onto the counter along with Ambipom, Pikachu quickly glanced around. "[W-What's going on? I heard Piplup crying!]" he called out to his friends, who were muttering amongst themselves further down the counter.

"[Yeah,]" Staravia called back, sounding stunned. "[Something upset him, so he pushed Dawn away and bolted out of the café.]"

Running closer to the group, Pikachu's eyes widened. "[What!? Why?]"

"[I-I dunno!]" Turtwig called back, looking worried. "[We were talking about Buneary's weird… thing, and then Piplup started crying outta nowhere!]"

"[Er…]" Buizel started, fidgeting uncomfortably, "[I was watching, I guess. I mean, how couldn't I, after Buneary's stupid thing?]"

"[Then spit it out, what happened?]" Ambipom asked, next to Pikachu.

"[Well, nothing! He just fumbled and dropped his stupid tray, just like he's been doing all day. I dunno what made this special enough for him to burst into tears, though!]"

"[Didn't you say Dawn said something to him, though?]" Staravia asked.

"[That didn't do it. He was already acting weird before that, and she didn't look angry with him, or whatever.]"

"[ _Ohhhhhh,_ I knew something like this would happen!]" Pachirisu whined, looking stressed. "[He's been getting more and more upset with each mistake! He was frigging _bound_ to snap!]"

Chimchar said nothing in response, though the guilty look on her face spoke volumes. Especially since she'd been the most vocal out of everyone when it had come to Piplup's mistakes.

"[Holy crap…]" Ambipom muttered, looking at the exit in concern. "[Poor doofus. Knew I should've said something, back when he wasn't even looking me in the eye anymore. Y'know, when he was giving me cups and stuff to wash.]"

Exhaling heavily, Pikachu looked off to the side. He saw the maids - both pokémon and human - awkwardly trying to keep things in order, reassuring the customers that everything was okay. Strangely, the white-furred one seemed absent, but whatever, that wasn't important.

Ash was helping Dawn to her feet and asking what was up. Pikachu felt sorry for her when he saw that somber look on her face. This can't have been helping her self-esteem. Especially since she'd already been feeling pretty down all week, no thanks to losing those contests in such early rounds. On top of Zoey's annoying attitude towards it.

With another breath, Pikachu frowned determinedly. "[Alright, everyone, don't panic. I'll go and help him out. You just… stay here, until Ash and the gang tell you to do stuff.]"

Most of the group began to murmur amongst themselves for a short while.

"[Well, you are, like… his best friend,]" Turtwig replied, "[so if anyone can fix things, it's you.]"

Pikachu nodded. "[Yeah, I'll-]"

"[ _Hell_ no, screw _that_ up the butt!]" Pachirisu exclaimed irritably. "[Piplup's probably God-only knows where, bawling his eyes out, and you want me to sit here, twiddling my tail? Hell with that noise!]" Hopping out of the maid outfit, Pachirisu jumped off the counter. The squirrel soon became lost in a sea of customers afterwards, who had gathered around to see what was going on.

Astonished, everyone stared blankly at the squirrel's abandoned maid outfit.

"[… Well then,]" Staravia muttered.

With a sigh, Chimchar nodded. "[Well, she has a point. I think I'm gonna go and see if Piplup's okay, too. It's the least I can do after everything I said…]" she said, turning and running towards the back entrance of the café, where the barn was.

"[The more the merrier, I guess,]" Pikachu muttered before frowning determinedly again. "[Okay, I'm going, too. Wish me luck!]"

The others gave him some words of encouragement. Saying his goodbyes to them, he - finally - removed his maid costume and moved over to the counter's side, scanning the floor for a place to land. He faltered when he realized just how busy the place was. He wasn't as small or nimble as Pachirisu, so he was going to get trampled badly if he tried that.

"[Hey, what's the hold up?]" Ambipom asked, getting closer.

"[I don't want to get stood on, that's what,]" Pikachu replied with sigh.

Ambipom huffed amusedly. "[Oh, you wuss.]"

He groaned in exasperation. "[What? They'll step on me.]"

"[That wouldn't stop me from going through them!]"

He pouted. "[Yeah, well… you're huge, so of course it wouldn't!]"

She giggled. "[Alright then, pipsqueak.]"

He huffed, pout deepening.

She grinned at him for a short while before seemingly catching herself and looking away; most likely trying to get herself back on topic. After a contemplative second or two, she nodded and tore off her maid outfit. "[Alright, guess I'm coming to the rescue, then!]"

Pikachu tilted his head. "[Huh? How so-? Ack!]"

While he'd been speaking, she'd reached downwards and used her paws to grab him. Holding him close, she jumped high into the air and grabbed onto one of the support beams with a tail hand, using it to stay in the air.

Realizing that his face was buried in her chest, he felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. Especially when he remembered what she'd said earlier. Oh, good lord… as if the 'hugging Ash's mom' incident in Johto hadn't been bad enough already…

Thankfully, the monkey hadn't noticed his embarrassment. Instead, she was swinging from support beam to support beam, moving closer to the door. Despite the situation, Pikachu couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly. He always found her acrobatics fun to watch, and now was no different. The wonders of being a monkey, he supposed. Maybe after today, he could ask her to give him a ride through the trees, or something. As long as she promised not to tease him for fifty hours straight about Buneary, again, anyway.

Speaking of which, where had that rabbit gone? He hadn't seen her with his group of friends earlier. Maybe she'd gone off elsewhere in the café to do more of her weird nuzzling? Well, whatever worked, though he was going to have to ask her about that later. It was pretty strange behavior, even for her.

With a flip, the monkey soon landed near the entrance. Pikachu prepared himself to hop out of her arms, but she didn't let up on holding onto him. Instead, she ran out of the entrance, him in hand.

"[… Um?]" he started, wondering what was going on.

Apparently ignoring him, she grinned determinedly. "[C'mon, buddy, let's find us a piplup!]"

He blinked before letting out a breath. "[Y-Yeah. Of course.]" Whatever worked, he guessed.

Apparently satisfied with that answer, she began to climb the side of the building. She used whatever footholds and handholds she could get her many limbs onto. As she climbed, Pikachu angled his head to glance at the grounds below, hoping to catch a glimpse of Piplup. However, he saw nothing of note, save for some odd looks from the customers. Something that embarrassed him slightly, though he tried not to let that stop him.

He did a double take when he saw Pachirisu in the crowd. From the brief glimpse he got... he saw the squirrel standing on top of someone's head, staring up at the apparent circus act going on. Why the squirrel seemed so intent on watching them - and so soon after adamantly vowing to find and help Piplup at that - was beyond Pikachu, but whatever.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Ambipom leapt into the air and landed onto the roof. Instead of simply letting him go, however, she picked him up with a tail-hand and placed him onto her head. "[Well, what're you waiting for? Let's find him!]" she said.

"[Er, yeah!]" he replied, balancing himself. With that, he got to work on scanning the fields. He saw many rows of flower beds and other pretty sights you'd expect to see in a garden, but nothing helpful. Still, he continued to watch out for anything useful at all. Anything that would let him help his friend...

* * *

Buneary hopped along the café's flowery pathway in hot pursuit of Piplup. The penguin had made a good amount of distance away from the café, but she could still see him. Even with all of the customers dotted about. Plus... it was hard not to follow him, with all of those sobs ...

Also in her line of vision was that maid from before. The water-type one, who was still glowing because of whatever move she'd used earlier. Said move seemed to be helping her move faster... though not fast enough for Buneary not to catch up after several especially long hops. Even with her own maid dress slowing her down a bit.

"[H-Hey! Mary!]" she called out when close enough.

After quickly glancing back at her, the maid groaned. "[I'm not-!]" She groaned again. "[Ah, nevermind. Er... madam.]"

Buneary grimaced. "[S-Sorry... um, fellow maid.]"

Sighing through her nose, the maid simply readjusted the frills on her head. "[It's... fine, madam. Let's just focus on getting your friend back.]"

Buneary nodded. "[R-Right!]" She hopped faster, overtaking the maid. She still wasn't going fast enough to catch up with Piplup easily, though. Since when was he so _fast?_

Her hard work paid off eventually, though. She was just a few hops away from getting to him! After one hop, she crouched down, ready to pounce.

Piplup's crying was suddenly cut off with a yelp. To Buneary's horror, the penguin had managed to fall down a trench, which ended with a soft splash. Hopping over to the edge, she was relieved to find out that the trench was a fairly short one. Plus, the stream Piplup had fallen into, although slightly strong, was nothing to worry about. That aching feeling in her heart returned when the penguin resurfaced, however. He'd begun to cry even harder, and his flippers were wrapped around himself feebly. It was a depressing sight.

"[W-Where is she?]" the watery maid asked worriedly, stopping next to Buneary.

"[Um... s-she fell into the river,]" Buneary responded, deciding to just play along with the 'she' thing.

"[... Oh, frick,]" the maid replied in concern. She blinked. "[Um, th-that is to say, oh... dear. Yes.]"

"[Um... yeah, er... you're water-type, right?]"

"[I... I gue- Suppose so, yes.]"

Exhaling lightly, Buneary tried to give her a reassuring smile. "[Y'know, you... don't have to be all maid-like around me if you don't want. I'm not gonna report you, or anything.]"

The maid stalled. "[... You mean that?]"

"[Yeah, we've got way... _wayyy_ bigger problems than trying to be polite right now.]"

The maid sighed in relief. "[Oh... thank _frick_ for that.]" She flicked the apron on her maid dress. "[I hate that stupid, stuffy bullcrap, so that's a relief, lemmie tell ya. It's stupid.]"

Buneary blinked. "[... Uh... yeah.]" She shook her head and frowned determinedly. "[Anyway, yeah. Please, could you go save Piplup? Shouldn't be a problem for you and your swimming skills!]"

The maid paused before sheepishly tapping her paws together. "[Er... I, er... can't swim very good.]"

Buneary stared at her. "[... Really?]"

The maid bashfully rubbed the back of her head. "[Yeah. Maid duties come before learning how to swim...]"

"[... Crrrrap.]" She sighed and began hopping forwards again, this time along the edge of the trench. She heard the maid following somewhat closely behind, though the footsteps she was making were a little odd. Quickly glancing backwards, the bunny saw her hopping along in an acrobatic manner, thanks to that move of hers. Was she copying Buneary's signature hopping? Well, it was doing wonders for the maid, if nothing else. By diving through the sky constantly, she'd started moving faster than Buneary, even.

In fact... with Bounce, the bunny could probably make her hops go just as fast! On that thought, she willed some wind to gather around her feet. As expected, she was able to spring much further with each hop, now! Even without using a full on Bounce.

Finding it much easier to keep up with Piplup, Buneary kept moving along the edge of the river. She had no idea what she could do to help him... but she had to think of something. And until she could, she wouldn't stop!

Still... she really hoped that help was on the way, soon...

* * *

Pikachu and Ambipom had been searching for well over a minute now, and things weren't looking up. There were many humans and pokémon dotted about, most of which seemed to be in line for the café... but no Piplup. Not even in the flowers or bushes, where Pikachu had expected him to have hidden away.

After a short while passed, he sighed. "[Absolutely nothing.]"

"[Yup, you and me both,]" she replied. Brightening slightly, she pointed towards a huge milk silo attached to the building nearby. "[Hey, how about from up there? It's certainly tall enough.]"

"[Good idea. Let's go!]"

Nodding, she quickly got to work on climbing the tall structure. Being good at balancing, the mouse had no trouble staying on top of her big head, even as her massive hair strands tickled his face. As she climbed, he got to work on searching some more, this time in the direction of the woods.

Out of nowhere, though, Pachirisu suddenly appeared in front of him on top of Ambipom's head. Pikachu's heart nearly flew out of his chest at the sight. "[ _Ack!_ What the-!? Pachirisu, what-?]"

"[Hey! Hey! Are you guys climbing up the tower?]" the squirrel asked excitedly.

While Ambipom murmured something out confusedly, Pikachu gave Pachirisu an odd look. "[... Er... yeah?]" he said.

Pachirisu giggled excitedly. "[Ooh~! I'm gonna race you to the top, then!]"

"[The heck, kid?]" Ambipom retorted, sounding somewhat irritated. "[Weren't you helping us, or somet-?]"

"[You'll never _ever_ beat me! Are you ready?]" Pachirisu interrupted, completely ignoring her. "[Three-two-one-aaaand-go!]" The squirrel set off, half-running, half-climbing up the silo at a surprisingly rapid pace. Even for Pachirisu.

Pikachu and Ambipom paused for a while. The mouse couldn't see the monkey's face, but he assumed she was just as flabbergasted as he was.

"[... Wow, that was weird, even for him,]" Ambipom eventually said.

"[Yeah...]" Pikachu replied before shrugging. "[Whatever, let's keep at it. Even if we _did_ just lose a race, apparently.]"

"[Heh, righty-ho!]"

With that, she continued to climb again. For the entire duration, Pikachu kept scanning the area. He frowned as his search still came up short. Just where _was_ that penguin? Thanks to the way he was, he usually had quite a big presence, so this was odd indeed. Pikachu's only guess was that Piplup must've gone away to hide, or something. Again, very strange behavior indeed...

Soon enough, Ambipom was at the top of the milk silo. Already on top, though, was Pachirisu, who was dancing about triumphantly.

"[ _Yes!_ I knew I'd win, I knew I would!]" the squirrel sang before doing a backflip and a pose. "[Zippy is _still_ _number oooone!_ ]"

... Now Pikachu was truly confused. The heck? It was like the squirrel had completely changed personality. It must've been Pachirisu, though. The voice... the appearance... the high levels of energy... It was unmistakable, if not for the weird narcissism out of nowhere.

"[Er...]" Ambipom started, "[the stress of what happened to Piplup getting to you or something, kid?]"

The squirrel's head cocked to the side.

"[And... what's a 'zippy?']" Pikachu added with his own head tilted. "[And what makes it number one?]"

Pachirisu gave them an odd look. "[ _What's_ a Zippy? _I'm_ Zippy! And I'm _always_ number one!]" the squirrel responded, finishing with another pose.

"[... Huh,]" Pikachu responded, not really any less confused but still going along with it. "[So... your name's actually Zippy, is it?]"

Pachirisu... or 'Zippy' nodded exaggeratedly. "[Yup!]" The squirrel's face lit up upon eyeing up Pikachu, who was still on top of Ambipom's head. "[Oh! Another tower to climb!]" Zippy leapt towards one of Ambipom's tail-hands, bounced off it, and landed next to Pikachu. The mouse yelped in response, and again once the squirrel jumped on top of his head.

Zippy giggled. "[ _Wooooo!_ And now Zippy's on _top of the wooooorld!_ ]"

"[... Okay, forget stress. Did you hit your head, or something?]" Ambipom said, sounding vaguely concerned.

"[Eh? No, I'm fine. You're weird,]" Zippy responded.

"[ _I'm_ weird?]" she retorted incredulously. "[Look in a mirror, kid!]"

The squirrel hopped up and down, giving Pikachu a mild headache. "[Ooh, great idea! I wanna see my great, _one-of-a-kind_ reflection! Heehee!]" Zippy gasped lightly and began to peer over the edge of Pikachu's head, viewing the crowd below. "[Oh, oh! I wonder if my trainer can see me? I hope so! I wanna be more interesting than the penguin that had water pouring out the eyes!]"

The mouse groaned exasperatedly. He stalled as he realized what Zippy had mentioned, though. "[... Say, Zippy?]"

"[ _Zippy!_ That was easy! Anything else I should say?]"

Pikachu groaned again. "[Now that's not what I-]"

Ambipom gasped lightly. "[Oh, totally! The penguin! Tell us where he ran off to!]" she said.

Zippy paused briefly. "[Huh?]"

"[Say that, and you'll... win the game of... being number one at penguin finding.]"

"[ _Really?_ ]" Zippy responded excitedly.

Pikachu hummed in realization. "[Yeah! It's like... that book, 'Where's Walrein?' Have you ever played that?]"

"[Oooh, yes, yes! I'm great at that!]" Zippy responded excitedly, hanging over the edge of Pikachu's head to stare him directly in the face. "[I always look for the growlithe's tail, and then the alakazam wizard's spoon stuff, and then Walrein, and I do it _all_ in a buncha seconds! It's really, really easy for me!]"

"[That's... really great, Zippy,]" Pikachu responded, forcing a big smile. "[Well, we've been trying to play that game with our penguin friend, but... we're not very good at it.]"

"[Yeah,]" Ambipom added, "[so go track Piplup down for us and then come back, won't'cha? When you tell us where you found him, we'll call ya legendary!]"

Zippy gasped in awe. "[Legendary!? I'm on it! I'll do it in seconds flat, because Zippy is...]" The squirrel leapt off Pikachu's head and then off the silo, "[ _number oooooone!_ ]"

Pikachu and Ambipom could only watch in confusion as the squirrel disappeared down the side of the building.

"[... Please tell me that wasn't _our_ Pachirisu,]" Ambipom said with an exasperated huff.

"[Yeah... that was weird, even for ours,]" Pikachu replied.

"[No kiddin'! Last I checked, ours was this sasslord smartass. _That_ was somethin' else entirely.]"

"[Heh, yeah... ]" He scratched his head, "[but then again, Pachi _did_ say all that real surly stuff when I told everyone to stay put. That was weird, too.]"

"[So what, you think he has some... multiple-personality-disorder thing, or something?]"

"[Could do! I mean, how could anybody have even _half_ as much energy as our Pachirisu?]"

She giggled lightly. "[Yeah... I've seen other pachirisu before, and none of 'em could run up and down a tree like the little spaz on our team!]"

Pikachu felt some sweat dribble down his head. "[H-Hey... don't call Pachirisu that.]"

She huffed amusedly. "[Why not? You know it's true.]"

"[W-Well... yeah, but-]"

"[Why not? Well, _I_ can think of one good reason...]" a slightly high-pitched voice said from behind.

Gasping, Pikachu and Ambipom spun around on the spot. Completely unbalanced, the mouse stumbled off the monkey with a yelp and crashed onto the silo. Before he could slide off it, she grabbed the base of his tail and lifted him back up. He grit his teeth at the horrible stinging sensation, but he forced a smile and thanked her anyway.

Smiling back, she turned her attention to the surprise guest, along with Pikachu. As he'd thought, it was Pachirisu. Or Zippy. Or whatever the little squirrel wanted to be called now. If it even _was_ the same electric-type.

The squirrel looked oddly unimpressed. "[I don't usually care whenever people talk garbage behind my back... but c'mon, you guys! Piplup's probably crying his heart out right now!]" Scowling, Pachirisu began to angrily hop up and down. "[So what're you doing up _here,_ other than talking about how weird I am!? What's so important, _huh!?_ ]"

Pikachu felt his face heat up out of embarrassment. Wow, being told off by Pachirisu... That was a new low for him.

"[Hey, speak for yourself, ya little punk!]" Ambipom retorted in annoyance. "[What was _that_ all about earlier? If that even _was_ you.]"

'Zippy' looked ready to argue, but stopped with a blink. "[... Wait, what? I've been running across the fields like a _lunatic_ looking for Piplup. What're you-]" The squirrel paused before seemingly catching on. "[Oh, oh, right. The grumpiness? Well, now's serious time! I'm not pulling goofy antics when Piplup's-]"

"[No, not that, ya dingleberry! I mean up here, with us!]"

"[Yeah,]" Pikachu added. "[You were talking about being 'number one', and... well, you sure were full of energy. And I don't know anybody else that energetic, ol' 'I like to run up and down trees!']"

'Zippy' looked the most confused Pikachu had ever seen the squirrel. More so than the day 'Zippy' had overheard Ambipom - an aipom, at that point - teasing Pikachu over Buneary for the first time, even. "[... What the f-]"

"[I'm back, and I did it! I found the penguin!]" another Zippy chimed from next to them suddenly, making Pikachu yelp loudly. "[So that makes me _legendary!_ Another sign of Zippy being _number one!_ ]"

Pikachu, Ambipom, and Pachirisu, who was apparently _not_ Zippy, all stared at the newcomer.

"[… Ah,]" Pachirisu… that is, _their_ Pachirisu, mumbled.

Very soon after, Ambipom huffed amusedly. "[... I knew it! No wonder you were slightly more likeable than usual, Pachrisu! Haha!]"

The squirrel looked somewhat offended. "[H-Hey, what?]" Pachirisu pouted. "[You're one to talk, you jerk!]"

Ambipom began to snarkily respond back. Deciding to ignore them, Pikachu looked the real Zippy over properly. Hm... come to think of it... this squirrel was a little smaller than _their_ squirrel. Also, the triangle on this kid's head was definitely larger. Only a bit larger, of course, but still enough to be noticeable. That made things a little less awkward, at least. Considering that male pachirisus often have much larger triangles than the girls did, this little guy must've been a boy.

Currently, he was looking at Pachirisu as if the squirrel's head was made of candy. "[Wow...]" he muttered. He slapped his small paws to his cheeks in amazement. "[It's another Zippy squirrel!]"

Pachirisu and Ambipom stopped arguing to stare at the younger squirrel. Noticeably, Pachirisu looked far more confused than the monkey did.

"[... Zippy squirrel?]" the older squirrel said.

"[Oooh, I've never seen another Zippy squirrel before!]" Zippy continued, hopping about excitedly. "[Not since Mama Zippy and Dada Zippy!]"

Pachirisu looked exasperated. "[... Er... _Ack-!_ ]"

Zippy leapt forwards and began to frantically manhandle the bigger squirrel. "[Hee! Another~! Zippy~! Another~! Zippy~!]"

Pachirisu began to frantically wiggle around to little avail. "[Wh-What the heck, kid!? C-C-Calm down! _Waah!_ ]"

Pikachu couldn't stop himself from chuckling a little at the sight. Ambipom was much the same way, unsurprisingly.

Coughing, Ambipom shook her head. "[Right, er… Yeah, Zippy?]"

Zippy's ears pricked, though he seemed to be too focused on crawling about Pachirisu's tail to address her.

"[You said you saw Piplup, right?]" she continued. "[Where'd he get off to?]"

Pikachu's eyes widened. Right, how could he forget!? "[Yeah, Zippy, you've gotta take us to him!]"

The younger squirrel blinked. "[Huh? But I wanna play with Other Zippy! I'm _booored_ of playing 'Where's penguin'!]"

"[No, c'mon, Zippy, that's-]"

"[ _What?_ ]" Pachirisu exclaimed suddenly. "[You know where Piplup is?]"

"[Yup!]" Zippy responded, hanging off the edge of Pachirisu's tail. "[I won the game of 'Find the penguin'! Which makes Zippy _legendaryyyy!]"_ He smiled proudly. "[Also, number one.]"

"[Ah, well, cool beans. Um...]" Pachirisu seemed to ponder something briefly. "[...Hey. Y'know what would really, _really_ make you number one, though, Zippy?]"

The little squirrel gasped and gazed at the bigger squirrel. "[ _More_ number one!?]" Zippy cried. He began to rock back and forth on Pachirisu's tail. "[Tell me, Other Zippy, tell meee!]"

Pachirisu smirked up at Zippy. "[... Only if you race me to that piplup! Winner takes home the trophy!]"

"[Then I'm on it!]" Zippy responded, hopping off the older squirrel's tail. "[Three-two-one- _go!_ ]" He rushed down the side of the silo at a rapid pace on his two feet.

After a surprised yelp at the sudden speed, Pachirisu inhaled. "[Okay… I'm gonna follow him and drop some hearts. Make sure to keep up, alright?]" the squirrel explained, facing away from Pikachu and Ambipom.

"[Er… we'll try,]" Pikachu responded.

Nodding, Pachirisu jumped off the silo and, with a flip, landed and zipped after Zippy at a similar speed on his own two feet.

… Pikachu snorted in amusement. Zipped after Zippy. How fitting.

… He shook his head and frowned determinedly. No, no time for puns. Piplup needed him. "[C'mon, Ambipom! Time to go!]" he said.

She nodded back. "[Sure is!]" She grabbed a hold of him with her paws and, again, held him against her belly, facing outwards. With that, she leapt off the silo and began towards where the squirrels had run off to. Apparently, in the direction of the forest.

Sure enough, as she swung through the trees the way only a monkey could, he spotted many pink Sweet Kiss hearts floating idly below them. All in a squiggly row that weaved in between trees.

"[There's Pachi's trail, Ambipom!]" Pikachu called out, pointing down at it.

"[Hey, what do you think I am, blind? I see it!]" she sassed back.

Pikachu huffed. Blind, indeed…

Without another word, she followed it from above. However, it wasn't proving as easy as the mouse had hoped. The hearts stretched a good long distance. Plus, the amount of times they'd had to swerve wildly to keep up with them had been bewildering, to say the least.

Eventually, after about half a minute of this, Ambipom groaned irritably. "[This is going nowhere! I wonder if they're even going the right freaking way…]" she complained, still swinging through the trees.

Pikachu gave her a curious look. "[What do you mean?]"

"[That Zippy kid… he's so random, I wouldn't be surprised if he's just given up on finding Piplup.]"

He frowned. "[Damn it, good point… He might just be racing Pachirisu for the sake of it, now.]"

She huffed. "[Well, fan-freaking-tastic.]" She paused briefly before huffing again. "[… Guess I'll just keep going until something better happens.]"

"[The only thing _to_ do, I guess…]"

Agreeing, she kept up the pace, weaving around tree after tree as she swooped through the air. She kept it up for what felt like another minute before Pikachu found himself biting on his lip nervously. Jeez, Piplup had really gone out of his way to hide himself a long distance from the others, hadn't he? Had he really been _that_ distressed? The penguin usually let _everybody_ know when something had annoyed or upset him. Usually with lots of melodrama. So to go into hiding so far away… he must've been utterly depressed. _Miserable,_ even.

Pikachu's eyes widened. This… reminded him of something. Honestly, it reminded him of… that one time so many years ago.

That one time when… he'd felt exactly the same way.

...

... Pikachu clenched his eyes shut. He remembered that day. Oh god, he remembered that day.

… What if… Piplup was going through something similar? Feeling alone? Or unwanted? Or… maybe even _betrayed?_

He slowly clenched his fists. No. He wouldn't wish that on anyone. Especially not such a close friend.

He opened his eyes, a wave of determination filling his veins. "[No… Ambipom, we can't keep going around in circles. We've gotta try harder!]"

"[Eh? What'chu mean?]" the monkey responded. "[I'm going fast as I can, and I can't help it if they're not doing their job properly!]"

"[I mean… we've gotta look for Piplup ourselves. _Screw_ chasing those two like headless idiots! We'll never get _anywhere!_ ]"

"[W-Wow, when'd you get so assertive?]" she replied, sounding somewhat impressed. "[… You're right, though. Let's get outta here.]" She strayed from the path, swinging in a completely different direction.

He nodded in approval. "[Thanks, Ambipom.]"

She nodded back. "[No probs, but where're we going if we're not following those guys? Got anywhere in mind?]"

"[Lemmie think…]" Pikachu mumbled, scrunching his eyebrows in thought.

He tried to think of places nearby, and how likely Piplup was to gravitate towards them. There was the entrance to the café with loads of flower beds… though it would've been easy to find the penguin there from the top of the building. There were the open fields… though Pachirisu had pretty much deconfirmed that. What with running about the fields, supposedly. Obviously, the forest was looking out of the question… So legends, where else even _was_ there? Unless Piplup had snuck into the miltanks' barn, in which case Chimchar had probably bumped into him. That was probably a stretch, though. Why would the penguin have just run back into the place he'd run away from? Even if he was just running around blindly, it wouldn't make sense for him to just loop around.

Pikachu exhaled through his nose. Ughh, this was frigging impossible. He was starting to feel more hopeless than on that day he'd almost frigging drowned in the lake. At least he'd had a vague chance of accomplishing something back then.

Taking another breath, he tried to think of somewhere else to search. Suddenly, though, a thought struck him. Lakes… Piplup really enjoyed swimming, and lakes were surprisingly common in Sinnoh, so… maybe something like that? It was a good start, if nothing else.

"[Actually, yeah…]" he said, catching Ambipom's attention, "[know any good lakes around here?]"

"[Huh? A lake?]" she replied.

"[Yeah, or something else water-types would like.]"

"[Hm… now _there's_ a thought.]" She slowed down slightly, as if thinking. "[… No clue.]"

He exhaled slowly. "[Dang…]"

She perked up suddenly. "[Oh! But hold that thought… I just got the _best_ idea!]" she said, picking up speed.

He tilted his head. "[Oh yeah?]"

She suddenly used a branch to swing upwards. With a flip, she came back down and then grabbed another branch with both her tail-hands. The momentum caused her to spin around it wildly.

"[Ah! W-What're you doing!?]" Pikachu yelped, suddenly getting brief flashbacks of that octillery robot.

Instead of slowing, she spun faster and faster. "[Make sure you get a good look~!]" she chimed.

"[What the-]" he barely got out before the monkey let go of him, sending him flying through the air, screaming.

Rising high enough, however, he realized that he had a bird's-eye view of the place! Flipping around, he scanned the whole area below. He saw the maid café... a different café, which he couldn't help but frown at for some reason... the fields where Brock, Autumn and Ilta were having their 'bonding lessons' or whatever…

... Aha! He saw it! A long river that stretched across most of the fields! And even better, he could barely make out something blue, black and white inside the river! It had to be Piplup in his maid outfit! Though... huh? What was with that light-blue lightshow going on over there? Was someone attacking him!?

Feeling gravity start to take hold of him again, Pikachu frowned. No way he was going to let someone hurt his friend. Especially when he was in _this_ kind of state _._

Briefly taking on a nose dive for speed, Pikachu fell back to the forest below. Just as he was about to go through the leaves, however, Ambipom leapt through in the nick of time and grabbed him in her arms.

Falling, she grabbed a branch with a tail-hand. She grinned down at him, though she faltered when she saw his face. "[Whoa, jeez, what's that look for?]" she asked.

He pointed towards where Piplup was. "[I think I saw him! And he looked like he was getting attacked!]"

She gasped. "[Oh god, _really?_ Well, hell, let's get over there, then!]" She swung through the trees at a rapid pace. Eventually reaching the last tree, she leapt through the air. With a flip, she landed on the ground and started sprinting towards the penguin.

His anxiousness making him impatient, Pikachu prepared a move. "[Hey, Ambipom! I need to get there ASAP, so lemmie slide out.]"

"[Oh, er, sure,]" she replied, starting to loosen her grip on him. "[I know he's getting attacked 'n' all, but it ain't like you to sound so serious! You alright?]"

"[… Yeah, it's fine, don't worry. See you in a bit!]" he replied. The second she slackened her grip enough, he pounced forwards. Not even bothering to call out his move's name, he dashed forwards with Quick Attack, leaving the monkey behind.

While rushing along, he briefly squeezed his eyes shut. Even if he'd had the time, there's no way he could ever tell anyone about how he'd felt that day. The day when…

* * *

 _Tears streamed down Pikachu's aching face as he ran. He didn't know where his paws were taking him, his ribs stung with every breath and the world around him was a blur… but he didn't care. Why should he care? He hated it. He hated everything. He hated **everyone!** Why did they have to do what they did? Why!? Why!? What had he ever done to deserve any of this!?_

 _Pain erupted in his bruised leg suddenly, throwing him off balance. With a yelp, he crashed to the ground. Laying there, he kept sobbing. He didn't know what else to do, and everything hurt, so he just kept sobbing._

 _He just kept sobbing…_

* * *

Pikachu let out a long, drawn breath. No… whatever happened, he couldn't let _any_ friend of his go through that. He didn't fully know the circumstances behind Piplup's breakdown, but… if he felt anything even _vaguely_ like how Pikachu had felt…

He ran faster.

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

 **Finished:** 26/11 (November)/2017

 **Word count:** 5,647

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** And thus the chase continues, though hopefully not for very long! I wanted to get it all out onto one chapter, but I also wanted to introduce a new little fecker, so… gosh dang darn it all!

Ah well, hope you liked it either way! Please lemmie know with some feedback! Unless you wanna run away from the fic like Piplup did, anyway. In which case… I'll cry too. D: (Disclaimer: Not really)

 **Shameless promotion:** **MewLover54** 's back at it again with another lagomorph story! This time, however, it takes place in the Mystery Dungeon world with some OCs! The fic's called **Pokemon Mystery Dungeon- Explorers of Legends** and it features Gracie, a modest, timid human who's now a buneary, and Tyson, who's a laddish, tsundere born and bred pikachu. The two form an exploration team and then get into all sorts of intense adventures! Also, romance.

Fic's cute and pretty cool right now! Plus, you can't go wrong with all the action that goes on within. I'd recommend it! :D Please go and review it with something other than the annoying "Update faster, you bundle of sticks!" sorts of comments he's been getting a lot lately. Despite updating, like, once a week on average.

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** 'Spilt Milk'

('Spilt' is apparently the more British version of 'Spilled'. I don't want none of that bloody language in here, today!)

 **#2:** 'Buneary to hopped along'

(Reminds me of the infamous fic, Sonic To A Car.)

 **#3:** "[It's... fine madam.]"

(How complimentary. Calling her a fine madam. Let this be a lesson in commas, guys.)

 **#4:** Buneary stared at her. "[... Really?]" "The maid bashfully rubbed the back of her head. "[ **Nope.** ]"

(Guess Marina lied about not being able to swim, or something. How impish!)

 **#5:** 'She sighed and **begun** to hop forwards again,'

(Sounds like some weird kind of accent. "O'ight, mate! She soighed and begun t' 'op forwards again, she did!")

 **#6:** 'And until she could **do,** she wouldn't stop!'

(How does one do? Unless existing counts as a do, in which case, Buneary just got intensely philosophical. "I think, therefore I do.")

 **#7:** 'most of which seeming to be **line** for the café...'

(I imagine a bunch of stick figure-esque lines just hanging out around the café.)

 **#8:** 'Zippy responded excitedly, hanging over the edge of Pikachu's **face** to stare him directly in the **face.'**

(Faceception.)

 **#9:** "[Well, _I_ can think of one god reason...]"

(Pachirisu now views him/herself as a god. That can't be good! I wonder if they're secretly the pachirisu from that one world championship from a while back…)

 **#10** 'Considering that male pachirisu often have much larger'

(... And then the laptop I was writing on crashed. Nice timing. XD)

 **#11:** 'he glanced up at her curiously. "[Um **... you okay** ]"'

(Look at suave-ass Pikachu, here. Not asking a question, but Complimenting his monkey friend. Clearly, he's a lady's man at heart. XP)

 **#12:** 'Pikachu's eyes snapped.'

 _(And then he became one of them blind mice apparently.)_

 **#13:** 'Getting His anxiousness making him impatient, Pikachu prepared a move.'

(Some use the name 'His' when referring to God (Which explains Him from Powder Poof Gurls , I guess), so it seems Pikachu prepared a move as God grew anxious, and then impatient. Which is usually when he gets smite happy, so good idea, Pikachu! Run before something Arceus-y happens!)

 **#14:** _'He tripped over his own **two** feet suddenly, crashing to the ground with a yelp.'_

(Why's he running while stood up!? And while tears are probably pouring down his face, too. It's such a melodramatic image that I can't stop bloody laughing. XD It reminds me of the first fic I read, Cursed Yoshi, which, in hindsight, is one hell of an emo fic. In fact, for fun, here's an excerpt featuring the main character and some random woman he randomly fell in love with in less than a day. Just so you know the horrors my teen self had to go through: '[After main character-chan talks about his sad backstory] _He couldn't finish, and tears streamed down his face faster than he could wipe them off. Distressed, he hopped off the bed and grabbed his cloak, heading for the door before Shiala could protest, sprinted down the stairs, out of the hotel, and into the rain, pinning the top closed with the brooch in the process._ _'_ *Takes deep breath because of long-ass sentence* Jesus, these are fecking yoshis, too. Y'know, like, from Mario. Good lord… XD)

Welp, that's me done. Tata for nowww! c:

* * *

 **Next up:** _Cleaning up the milk spillage!_


End file.
